


Origin of Thorns

by BlueDaria



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Drama, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Family, Feels, First Kiss, Firsts, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, LGBTQ Character, LGBTQ Character of Color, Magic, Mental Health Issues, Modern Era, Multi, Music, POV Rose Weasley, Parenthood, Romance, School, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-24
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-16 06:35:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 28,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28952049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueDaria/pseuds/BlueDaria
Summary: Nineteen years later...Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione let off their kids on the Hogwarts Express to find their own second home, their own adventure. But what's going to happen when those conflicts from their youth come back to their children? Many positive changes happened after The Battle of Hogwarts, but nothing good could ever come of a Granger-Weasley and a Malfoy having to work on a Herbology Project.But alas, seven years can change a person, and Rose has a lot of change to look forward to for the next coming years at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry.Lengthy fanfic told from Rose's perspective. Has a lot of my own headcanons and is very loosely accurate to Harry Potter and The Cursed Child. More canon divergent than compliant. Very wholesome, more of a slice of life as they go to school. hope u enjoy :)
Relationships: Scorpius Malfoy/Rose Weasley
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	1. First Year: Legends

Albus, Rose, and James sat on the train as they waved goodbye to their parents. 

“See you on holiday!” Ginny yelled.

“Make us proud, sweetheart!” Ron said.

“You already make us proud, Rosie!” Hermione corrected, which caused her father to quickly shout. “Yes! Yes, you sure do!”

Rose let out a giggle when she saw her uncle Harry playfully slap her father’s arm.

“We love you!” Their parents all yelled once the train started.

“As if they aren’t getting enough stares.” Albus cried, covering his face in his hands. James put his hand on Albus’ shoulder.

“Six more years.” They shared a laugh as Albus played with Rose’s owl, Dixie.

“Wait!” Rose got up and ran down the train to see her parents as they moved further and further down the track. She had been dreading this day for weeks. Of course, she was excited to go to Hogwarts, she just knew she was going to miss her parents too much.

But it was going to be fine, she knew that for sure. Rose sat in the nearing empty compartment to wait out on her tears. If James and Albus were to see her, they would surely laugh. 

It was while she was roughly wiping down her eyes with her sleeve, she was ready to leave.

The rest of the train was crowded with kids in different coloured ties and wands at the ready. She could almost imagine her parents on the train, sitting with her Uncle Harry. Or Aunt Ginny with Aunt Luna and Professor Longbottom, all excited to get to start a new year. But there Rose stood in a sea of strangers who’d probably vow to be her friend if only she said her full name. It was a weird, unsettling kind of power. 

Just then, she saw Albus in one of the compartments with a blonde boy in black. They were talking and laughing. The last thing Rose wanted to do was walk into James’ compartment with a bunch of third years, the older boys always made her nervous. So Albus was her only option.

Rose slowly opened the door, showing a clearer picture of the boy in question. She knew the face and she could already guess his name, the sight of him frightened her worlds more than any older boy on the train. In fact, the boy was quite short compared to Rose.

“Hi Albus,” Rose said with a quiet voice. “I was looking for you. Do you want to find a compartment with me?” Albus shook his head at Rose and she knew that it was only polite to introduce herself to the boy. “Hi, I’m Rose Granger-Weasley.” 

“Hello, I’m—” Rose interrupted the boy without thinking.

“S’alright, I know who you are.” She tried her best not to display any sort of tone. “You’re a Malfoy”

“Scorpius Malfoy.” All Rose could do was just stare at him, and look to Albus, hoping he would join her in the empty compartment.

“Rose, could you stop?” Albus asked.

“She doesn’t like me,” Scorpius said to the two of them. “It’s because of my father. Our families’ history is dark, but I do like you both.” He looked at Albus who gave him a smile and another piece of candy that they were sharing. Then to Rose, who let her face a bit more resentful. 

“Well, I don’t like you.” 

“That’s okay,” The boy said and Rose left, annoyed that the boy thought that he could choose what was okay for her, Rose hated that especially. 

***

Rose stuck beside James and his good friend, Lockie Mae from Hufflepuff. 

“We haven’t met, have we?” Lockie stuck his hand out to Rose as they exited the train, he had black hair that fell in front of his eyes, and Rose could tell that he had zero intentions to cut it.

“No, I’m Rose,” She said politely.

“Lockie Mae. _Your_ mum sent me a CD when I was at my Muggle camp last summer. That really helped me through it all, my mum would never let me take my Discman there.”

“Which album was it, Lockie?” James asked.

“ _Harry Styles_ ’ debut solo album, Potter. _Don’t you remember?_ ” Lockie had a lot of enthusiasm when talking about new albums, almost as much as James. "I know you weren't there during his boy band days, but trust me, it's good!" Rose could see why they were attached at the hip when at Hogwarts.

After a bit of laughter and a promise from Lockie to listen to his CD soon, Rose went with the rest of the first years to the boats.

“Is that a Weasley I see?” A very big man with long big hair said to Rose in front of all the first years. Rose knew right then and there that that man was Rubeus Hagrid. 

“Rose _Granger_ -Weasley. Nice to meet you, Mr. Hagrid.” Rose stuck her hand out and Hagrid took it. His hand was so big that he shook her wrist as well. 

“Just call me Hagrid.” Rose felt a bit dumb, wishing her parents had told her that before she left, it seemed that Hagrids few visits to her family gatherings didn’t do much for their relationship. But Rose was excited enough to see him more often when at school. “Now, young Granger-Weasley, how about you go on this boat with those three girls on your left.” Rose went over to the boats and sat down.

It seemed that Rose actually didn’t know how to make friends. She had hopes that her family name would give her recognition, but the three girls staring at her as they waited for the boats to start made her feel indifferent. 

“Hello there,” Said a girl with a big black afro which had flowers all around it. She had a sweet voice which Rose thought was very comforting. “Evanora Walsh. You can call me Evie, Evan, Nora, Norbert, whichever you’d like.” It seemed that Evanora treated nicknames like meal options for a spoiled child. Rose, however, was never taught to be spoiled and was rather grateful for the options, even though she thought that ‘Evan’ suited the girl best.

“You next,” Evanora turned to a girl with light blonde hair, she looked pretty young for eleven and had a scared face to match it.

“Hi,” She said in a quiet voice, soon fixed after a few coughs. “I’m Pat Elliott.”

“Is that short for something?” The third girl said suddenly. “Like Patrisha?”

Pat shook her head. “No, my parents thought it was sweet and simple, a bit like me.” The water in the lake rumbled under the boats. Indicating that they were about to move.

“I quite like Patrisha.” The girl said. “Pat sounds cooler though.” The girls giggled a bit in agreement and the boats started to move, startling the four girls. After straightening themselves out, the girl said “I’m Natasha O’Neill, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” Her voice was a bit low, it made her sound more mature. “Call me Tash.”

Evanora nodded, “Okay, Evan, Pat, Tash…” Evan turned to Rose. “We didn’t catch your’s.” Rose tensed up at the three girls, what if she lied, made up a fake name like Minnie Mingleton or Uma Parker. But the sorting ceremony would obviously blow her cover.

“Oh, Merlin’s Beard! There it is!” Pat yelled as the Hogwarts castle grew clearer and clearer into view. All the girl’s attention turned to the castle, giving Rose some breathing room to enjoy the sight for the very first time, knowing she would never feel this feeling more than once.

***

All of the little first years stared and gasped all the way to the main hall where they were greeted by Headmistress, Professor McGonagall.

“Now, I can imagine how anxious you all are to be seated into your houses, but just a friendly reminder that Hogwarts is not like how it was when your parents were students. Since The Second Wizarding War, there have been many changes to this school, the biggest being that this is no place for inter-house conflict." The group of first years started to whisper and Rose could see Albus’ head face the floor. “We strongly encourage unity between all houses. There is one main common room as well as those that are House specific. You all have the option to eat meals with your friends on any given day besides feasts, today is no exception, just confirm with your head of House beforehand just so we know where you are.” McGonagall gave a smile to all of the children before opening the door to the Great Hall.

Rose’s eyes glimmered at the bewitched ceiling displaying the night sky, she even spotted James at the Gryffindor table and Lockie and Hufflepuff. She tried her best to stay near Albus, obviously without him knowing it. He was too busy talking to _him_.

It felt like years flew by during that ceremony, Rose saw kids get their first bit of identity, sitting with like-minded people who wore the same colours as them (There was a new spell that changed your plain robes into a house uniform, McGonagall was an expert in transfiguration. 

“Elliot, Pat.” Pat gasped once her name was called and quickly hurried up to the Sorting Hat. 

“Hmmm,” The Hat said in its raspy voice. “Very kindhearted, very kind indeed...HUFFLEPUFF!” Everyone applauded and Pat hopped out of her chair, now in a dazzling yellow tie. Rose watched the girl walk over to the Hufflepuff table and shake hands with her peers, one of them being James’ friends, Lockie Mae. Rose could tell that Pat was going to love being in Hufflepuff for sure.

“Granger-Weasley, Rose.” Rose looked up quickly and slowly moved to the front, she could feel the stares from the others, especially Evan and Tash.

Rose sat down and the hat was placed on her. 

“Oh! A _Granger-Weasley_ , eh? This is too easy...GRYFFINDOR!”Everyone cheered and Rose could see James get up from his seat and cheer. Rose got out of the seat and raced to the Gryffindor table where she shook hands with her peers, marking her territory beside James.

“Malfoy, Scorpius” Rose everted her eyes as the boy walked up to the Hat. 

“Ooooh, A Malfoy, hmmm, a bit tricky, you are.” The boy grew more and more worried, and flinched when the hat yelled “SLYTHERIN!” Typical, she thought.

“O’Neill, Natasha.” Tash departed from Evanora and walked to McGonagall as opposed to the hat, whispering in her ear. “Ah, O’Neill, _Tash_ ” Tash smiled, proceeding to the Sorting Hat.

“SLYTHERIN!” The hat yelled and Tash sat with the kids in green, sporting it as well. Rose saw that she sat right beside the Malfoy boy and tried to strike a conversation with James to distract her. But James shushed right as McGonagall called. “Potter, Albus.” Everyone in the hall started to whisper, Albus looked miserable. James hushed his whole table just as Albus went to sit down.

“Ah, even more, tricky than Malfoy. Well, there is one clear answer...SLYTHERIN!” Rose’s head shot to Albus as soft applauses rang all around the Great Hall, the loudest coming from Slytherin. It was mostly quiet and no one knew what to do, so Albus just went to his table. They quickly continued the ceremony.

“How can that happen? James?” Rose turned to James who looked far more confused than afraid. 

“The Sorting Hat is never wrong,” James said. Rose tried to tell herself that, and although The Sorting Hat was never wrong, nothing felt more wrong than the sight of her cousin sitting with Scorpius Malfoy dressed in green.

“Walsh, Evanora.” Rose could see the flower speckled afro from a mile away. Evan sat down and The Sorting Hat was placed just above her hair. The Hat made a comment of not feeling that comfortable on hair in ages, to which everyone laughed, including Evan. 

“Ah, I see...RAVENCLAW!” The hall cheered and Evan sat down in her blue robes. Rose pondered on how she was placed on a boat with one person from each house. It was quite strange but the laughter of it got muffled once the feast began and she stuffed her face with food just as her father taught her.

***

The main common room was in the middle of the school. In passing, James told her how it was one of the rooms that weren’t destroyed during the war, it’s supposed to represent resilience and unity as well as a monument from battle. Thus, it just had to have portraits of her parents and relatives covering the walls.

“She’s quite pretty,” said a soft voice, and Rose turned around to see Evan, Tash, and Pat standing around the portrait of her mother, Hermione Granger. “Is this your mother?” Pat had asked kindly.

“Yes, she is,” Rose said timidly, joining the group. Pat was right, her mum did look pretty in her picture, even with the bloody lip. There’s been a scar there ever since.

“And this is your father?” Tash asked, leaning against her dad’s portrait, Ronald Weasley. Rose wanted to ask Tash to give the portrait more respect, leaning up against it. But still, she was too scared to. 

“Yes,”

“And her?” Pat pointed at Aunt Ginny

“Yes,”

“And him?” Tash pointed at Uncle George.

“Yes,” Tash’s finger then pointed to the photo next to Uncle George. It almost looked like a mistake at first glance, the pictures looked almost identical. The only difference is the writing at the bottom: _may Fred Weasley rest in peace, 1978-1998._

“Um…” Tash stopped herself from talking. Rose’s eyes glared at that photo of Uncle Fred, so much so that she could hardly notice Evanora as she put a hand on Rose’s shoulder.

“I think it’s getting late, we shouldn’t be late for school tomorrow.” Three of the girls slowly scrambled out of the common room, going through their respective exits.

Rose took a seat in the common room by the window. It was the one that faced her parents’ portraits. Rose couldn’t help but feel inferior when looking at her parents and relatives on the wall. Even though the Weasleys and the Potters made sure to keep their children out of the public eye, hearing how amazing her parents were was still the daily reminder anytime someone heard her name.

It was like the portraits were staring at her, waiting for her to do something magnificent. And the best thing Rose did was get into Gryffindor. Still being a big achievement, knowing she’d get a letter from her parents, congratulating her, a part of her that was the only thing she’d do just as her parents did.

“Don’t stare too closely, I think Uncle Fred winked at me once.” James entered the common room with Lockie trailing behind him. James was wearing his jean jacket covered in patches and jeans. Lockie waited by the door as James came to sit by Rose, it had just got dark. "Did Uncle Ron get you a watch yet?" 

“I know what time it is, James,” Rose told him. She was hugging her knees, it was getting a bit cold. James took his jacket and put it around Rose. “I’m fine.” 

“Where’s Albus?” James sat down beside her.

“Haven’t seen him since the sorting,” Rose said, facing the floor. “I don’t think I’ll be seeing him for a while.” 

“Why is that?” James asked softly.

“I hate him and he hates me, he’s off with Malfoy.” Rose could feel that she was crying but didn’t want to think about it.

“He’s family, Rose,” James told her.

“Oh, forget it.” Rose took off the jacket and slumped down on the chair.

“This isn’t about Albus, is it?” And that’s when Rose started to cry.

“James, they’re staring right at me!” Rose grabbed for James. “Make it stop!” James pulled her into a hug and Rose cried. James rubbed her back and shushed her. James could see Lockie directing other students to an alternative route to their respective towers, ones that didn’t mean seeing Rose Granger-Weasley crying into James Potter’s t-shirt. “What if I’m not good enough?” She said beneath the tears.

“What?”

“Our parents, they're legendary. Their stories are told in classes, their portraits are in the common room. I thought I could take advantage of my name, but it's just been so hard!" Rose let it all out, and it felt like her mother's portrait wanted to jump out and hug her tears away. "...What am I?” Rose knew that the one person she could be completely honest with was James. He was the big brother she had always wanted. 

“You’re Rose. I’m James, Albus is Albus, Lily is Lily, and Hugo is Hugo.” James started and Rose started to calm down. “Our parents are the reason why we don’t have to be legends. They saved the school and fought the Dark Lord every year of school just for our biggest worries to be tests and mean teachers.”

Rose wiped her eyes and James handed her his jacket, she wrapped it around herself again.

“We’re safe, Rose. Because of them, we’re safe.” Rose turned to look at her family’s portraits. Uncle Harry’s crooked glasses and scar, Aunt Ginny’s long red hair, Grandma’s blouse, and her parent’s smiles, knowing that at that moment, no one at Hogwarts would be in danger ever again.

Rose got up from her seat and hugged James one more time.

“And by today’s standards, you’re legendary for being the shortest Weasely.” James ruffled Rose’s red hair and she pushed him away, they laughed.

“Oh, you just wait until Hugo gets here!” In the mix of all the laughter, Lockie slowly came into the common room, holding a plastic case.

“Here’s to your first day at Hogwarts!” And he handed her a CD entitled _‘Harry Styles’._ “Give it a listen, you have a week.” 

“But how can I—”

“You can borrow my Discman,” James interjected. Rose jumped up and down before running up the stairs to the Gryffindor common room where she saw the Discman lying on the table. Rose grabbed the Discman and ran upstairs to her dormitory. 

Rose’s roommates were already asleep, she crept to the bathroom and changed into her pyjamas, hanging her uniform by the door. After staring at the robe for a few moments, the colours all turned into each other, the colours meant nothing and everything at the same time.

The sound of The Sorting Hat, the sound of Albus rang in her ears. She didn’t know what to do. It was such a sound that could only be muffled by guitars and Harry Styles singing into her ears until she could fall asleep.


	2. First Year: Herbology

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Classes have started and Rose has a talk with Professor Longbottom.

_Tell me something, tell me something_

_You don't know nothing, just pretend you do_

September 4th, 2017

Rose woke up with a jolt of energy, it was her first day of classes. She got out of the dorms promptly, rushing into her robes and quickly tying her hair into a bun made up of many little braids. She practiced this look all summer just so it could be her signature. 

Whilst running down the steps to the Great Hall, Rose strapped the headphones around her ears, blaring the CD Lockie gave her. Even after listening to it through last night, she made a habit of starting the album over. She didn’t get much sleep and was running on pure adrenaline and excitement for the day. 

“Excuse me!” Rose ripped down the spiral stairs so fast that she barely even noticed the girl in yellow standing at the bottom, calling her. Rose crashed into her, causing them both to fall on the floor, tangled in wire and fabric. The two girls were fine, thankfully, so was the Discman.

“Pat, I’m so sorry!” Rose got up and pulled the frail Hufflepuff to her feet, unharmed.

“It’s okay, it sure woke me up. Now I’ll be extra awake in Herbology.” Pat said with a smile.

“Oh! I have that too, with Professor Longbottom?”

“Oh, yes,” Pat said in a giddy tone. “I’ve read all about him. He knows your parents, right?” Rose noticed the book Pat was holding _Herbology Masters After 1999._

“Yeah, I haven’t talked to him much, he’s too busy teaching.”

“Oh, I can hardly wait! Lockie Mae told me that Professor Longbottom wears plant socks.”

“Plant socks?” Rose asked.

“Regular socks but with pictures of _plants_ on them. Isn’t that just _amazing_?” Pat asked as they entered the Great Hall. 

“Quite wonderful,” 

“Hey,” Pat stopped Rose. They both stopped in front of the hall, facing the four long tables. “...Would you maybe like to eat breakfast with me? What Tash and I did was very insensitive and ...I like talking to you. If it makes you feel better, Lockie said that your cousin would be eating at the table as well…” 

Rose peered over to the table of yellow robes, speckled with spots of red, green, and blue. She could spot James with Lockie, laughing as they ate fruit and cereal and Rose felt more comfortable.

“Alright, will you come with me to ask?” Pat nodded and locked arms with Rose as they walked down the path between the table. “Pat?”

“Mhm?” Pat had her eyes locked forward as they casually pranced closer to the staff table.

“Who’s the Gryffindor Head of House?” Her question was cut off by Pat enthusiastically greeting Professor Longbottom as he ate his toast. Professor Longbottom wore a brown suit jacket with the Gryffindor crest on it, a dark green vest and a light green plaid button-down shirt, light brown trousers that were cuffed at the ankle to show his socks that had vines wrapped around his calf. It was clear that he took pride in his appearance and even had fun with it. That made Rose think about James and his jacket with the patches and even with her hair with the messy braids. She could relate to him, and Rose was more than delighted to have him be her Head of House.

“Professor? May I sit with the Hufflepuffs today?” Rose asked after Pat complimented Professor Longbottom’s choice of jam. 

“Yes, you may,” Professor Longbottom slipped out of his seat and pulled out his wand. “Would you like to sit near the entry? Or by the kitchen?” 

“Down the row beside James Potter, just by the kitchens, please!” Rose requested, and with a flick of his wand, two table placements were put on the bare plates beside James and Lockie. “Thank you, Professor!” Rose and Pat said.

“Enjoy your breakfast! See you both in Herbology!” Professor Longbottom said as the two girls pranced over to the Hufflepuff table to enjoy their meal together.

***

Throughout the day, Rose had to dodge looks from Tash and Evan. It seemed like she had only found comfort in the presence of Pat, who even commented on how nice that phrase rolled off the tongue. 

Low and behold, it was time for Herbology and Rose entered the greenhouse with Pat, who she could see was shaking with anticipation. But once Professor Longbottom came in holding a ginormous potted plant, covered in dirt, ruining his dashing outfit they saw just that morning, Pat calmed down, and Professor Longbottom clearly didn’t mind the mess.

“Hello students, I’m Professor Longbottom and I will be your Herbology teacher.” And he placed the pot on the ground, making a thud sound that caused some first-years to jump. “Sorry about that. Now, what I have with me today is something I read up on when I was just a few years older than you.” He gestured and everyone walked closer to the small tree, which was tied down to the pot and on further inspection, it seemed like the tree was floating.

“These are a special rare kind of tree from all the way in Nepal. And as you could tell by the ropes, they are gravity resistant.” A boy in Slytherin raised his hand. “Yes?”

“Scorpius Malfoy,” Rose flinched at the name and even could recognize that Professor Longbottom noticed as well. “What does ‘gravity resistant’ mean?” And with that, Professor Longbottom cracked a smile at Scorpius.

“I’ll just show you, stand back.” Everyone grouped at the other side of the room while Professor Longbottom untied the tree from the pot. Slowly, the tree rose from the ground. Everyone’s eyes followed the tree as it moved closer and closer to the ceiling, resting above the work tables.

“Is it a levitation charm?” a student asked, which was Evanora who was hugging her books with great fascination. 

“No one knows…”

“Evanora Walsh,” Evan said.

“Evanora,” Professor Longbottom repeated, “I’ve researched these for ages and no one has come to a conclusion.” Pat’s hand shot up. “Yes?”

“Pat Elliott...Is this your favourite plant, Professor?” Professor Longbottom let out a chuckle at Pat’s words.

“Absolutely not! I mean, it is at this moment in time, I’m sure I’ll find a new favourite by lunch.” Pat cracked a smile. “Every plant I own is my favourite, it’s a hard thing for me to choose.” 

He took his wand and pointed it at every plant in the room, making their branches or leaves dance, repeating “I love this one, and this one, and this one, and this one…” making the room turn into an uproar of laughter as the plants and trees performed a shimmy. 

After a few moments of calming down and Professor Longbottom returning the tree to its pot, the lesson began.

“For your first assignment, I would like you to find your first favourite plant and write about why you like it.” Professor Longbottom opened a huge cupboard in the room, revealing his collection of plant books. “It can be as little as a few paragraphs backed up by research. All I want you to do is find what you love about plants…” Professor walked around the room, Rose guessed that it was for emphasis. “...Because there is no learning without at least a little bit of interest.” Rose gazed around the room to find the plant that looked the prettiest. 

“Now, let me partner you all up. “ The class all groaned at this new addition to this assignment. Rose locked eyes with Pat, who was soon paired up with Devon Finnigan, fellow Gryffindor. Then to Evan, who was paired with Albus and floated over to him with meek delight. Tash was paired with a girl in Ravenclaw and as soon as Professor Longbottom said her name, Rose dreaded for him to finish. And it was like hell froze over, she was paired with Scorpius Malfoy.

Each pair moved seats to be together, and Rose gripped her books on their shared table as she saw his name scribbled on his copy of _One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi_. But soon, the silence and humm of peers working felt annoying and all Rose wanted was for this class to be over.

“Can we do our assignment on Fanged Geranium?” Rose sounded like she was asking, but she was just telling.

Scorpius looked at Rose bewildered just until she pointed at the fanged flower on one of the counters, to which Scorpius’ eyes glimmered. “Yeah, sure!” He got up from his seat, making the chair skid, a sound that annoyed Rose even more.

Scorpius walked over to the Fanged Geranium, picking it up. Rose scribbled into her notebook and suddenly heard a yelp and a slip and looked up just to see Tash cradling the pot of Fanged Geranium and Scorpius on the floor, she caught it just in time.

***

Once the class had ended, Professor Longbottom asked Rose to stay behind. Just then, she noticed just how tired she was as she slumped back into her chair. She clearly didn’t get much sleep last night.

Professor Longbottom came and sat in the chair in front of her. It reminded her of how her dad would sit when they would have a _talk_. It was essentially the same, he _knows_ her father.

“Miss Granger-Weasley, as your Head of House it’s my job to enforce unity. I can imagine how upset you might be after being placed with Mr. Malfoy,”

Rose slumped in her chair and gave a lazy nod.

“I couldn’t help but notice our shared reaction to the name ‘Malfoy’.” Professor Longbottom smiled a bit. “I went to school with Draco and I’m sure your parents filled you in on how that must’ve been like.” Just thinking of the stories annoyed Rose even more. “But I’d just like to assure you that Scorpius is not his father.” He took a moment to think. “I visited the Malfoys last summer and I can assure you that if I can forgive Draco for his past, you can let Scorpius into your present.” Rose’s face grew pink with resentment as she got out of her seat. 

“His father hurt my family. I’ll make friends with _anyone_ but him.” Rose felt a tear fall down her cheek and Professor Longbottom got up to get a tissue but Rose went for the door.

“I’ll do the assignment, I really like your class, Professor.” Rose got up and felt her body tense. “...My mum and dad say hello,” Rose said as she fled from the classroom to find the nearest washroom before anyone could see her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song at the beginning is Ever Since New York by Harry Styles. It's the song she seemed to replay a lot as she was getting ready.


	3. First Year: Fanged Geranium

September 12th, 2017

Throughout the week, Rose had met with Scorpius in the library each night to write their paper. They each wrote two paragraphs and uttered as little amount of words as possible. When Scorpius ran out of ink or needed someone to look over his spelling, he would look up at Rose and she would lend some ink displeased or take his parchment out of his hands, ticking off every mistake he made, making a conscious effort to not cross out his name, the biggest mistake of all.

“It’s raining tonight,” Scorpius said at the beginning of one of their last meetings in the library, it was just after dinner. Rose glared at him and continued with her work as she double-checked the book just in case she missed any facts on Fanged Geranium. “Albus said you liked the rain.” 

“I like a lot of things...” Rose said a bit under her breath, allowing Scorpius to catch it. “Are you done with the sketch?” She asked.

Scorpius nodded and handed her his bit of parchment. In vibrant shades of red and green, the picture of the Fanged Geranium shone off the parchment. But Rose fought off an impressed smile as she looked back at Scorpius, returning the sketch. “Good job,” 

“I can hand in our assignment if you’re finished, Professor Longbottom should still be in his classroom.” Rose packed her things, including her work.

“No, there are still some things I need to look over.”

“Like what?” Scorpius asked.

“I’m not done with the chapter on Fanged Geranium, I don’t want to miss anything.” Rose put on her bag and soon made her way to the exit, giving Scorpius a lazy ‘goodbye’.

***

Just as the rain started to pour, Rose sat in the main common room with James’ Discman, her back facing her family’s portraits. She could have stayed in Gryffindor commons, but it was always crowded and the main common room had the biggest windows, Albus was right with one thing, Rose did love the rain.

“How’s Fanged Geranium?” Evan asked and Rose turned to see that Evanora now had butterflies in her afro. “They’re plastic, I bewitched them to move.” She said with a smile as she went and sat down by Rose.

“We’re almost done, Malfoy wanted to hand it in early, but I don’t want him to ruin my mark.” Rose hugged her knees, staring through the window, speckled in raindrops. 

“Albus and I are researching the Whomping Willow, but he just asked his father to write a letter, telling us all that he knew about it.” Evan took a moment to gaze at Rose as she zoned out, staring at the rain. “You’re Uncle seems very kind.” 

“Wish that passed on to Albus…” Rose rubbed her eyes in exhaustion. “Nevermind,” 

“If you don’t mind me asking, why do you hate Scorpius? I get that he spends all his time with Albus but I’m finding it hard to understand.” Evan asked calmly, she didn’t know.

“Our parents have a grim past.” Rose waited to find the right words. “He bullied my parents, called my mum a ‘mudblood’.” Evanora gasped and placed her hand on her heart. At this point, that word hadn’t been used in ages, using it could get you in serious trouble at Hogwarts. “Bullied my father and his family for being poor, and with my Uncle Harry…” Rose stopped herself, it felt as if everyone knew about her Uncle Harry and the Malfoys, assuming it would at least be a few paragraphs in the latest edition of _Hogwarts: A History._

“Being nice to a Malfoy just feels wrong,” Rose said. Evan took Rose’s hand and held it as they stared at the rainy window.

“You guys seem to be almost done. And after that, you can avoid him for the rest of term.” That quickly made Rose feel better, she didn’t even have to go to their last meeting realistically, Scorpius was finished.

“You’re right, Evan, thank you.” They both got up and Rose grabbed her things. “It’s almost bedtime, I should go look for James.” 

Coming from the entry and walking to Hufflepuff commons was Pat, who was wearing a daisy chain crown and yellow jumper, soaking wet. She had a smile across her face that dimmed once she noticed Rose and Evan.

“The leaves are about to fall, you should get your wildflowers while you still can.” Pat looked at Evan and Rose a bit surprised, but quickly shook it off and exited. “Sweet dreams, you two,” 

***

During lunch the next day, Rose sat with Evan at the Ravenclaw table. Evan thanked her for joining, commenting on how purple was her favourite colour while also being their house colours combined. She thought they matched, Rose agreed. 

“I think I want to join the choir,” Evan said in between bites.

“Do you like choir music?” 

“No, not really.” Evan frowned a bit. “I like other kinds of music though,” 

“I can ask James if I can borrow his CDs and Discman this weekend so we can listen to them.” Evan really liked that idea. They were excited to do that, so much so that Rose didn’t notice that Scorpius came to sit with them.

“Rose?” Scorpius called and Rose looked at him coldly. “I handed in our assignment.”

“You what?” Rose shot back.

“You forgot your work in the library last night. I looked it over and it was good, so I handed it in.” Scorpius fumbled with the napkins on the table as Rose fully processed his words. 

“I told you no! Was that not enough?”

“I didn’t say it wasn’t—” Rose cut him off.

“Leave me alone!” And with that, Rose started to leave, but stopped once she saw the daisy chain bracelet around his wrist, which made her move faster. Evan didn’t bother catching up with her, knowing kind words weren’t what Rose needed.

***

September 14th, 2017

Rose left Herbology with an Outstanding in her assignment. She took the grade in peace knowing that she didn’t have to speak to Scorpius ever again. She did, however, wish she let the Fanged Geranium bite him in the finger once or twice when it had the chance, she just didn’t want blood on her parchment.

“Rose! Rose!” Pat called out to her in the hallway on her way to lunch. Rose turned to Pat, seeing that Evan and Tash were with her as well. “Good job on the Herbology assignment.” 

“Malfoy is out of my life, I’m peachy,” Pat interjected. 

“Evan told us about your weekend plans.” Rose tensed up, looking forward to spending time with Evan alone. The other girls didn’t seem to understand her as much as Evan did. “Tash and I were wondering if we could join…” Rose was stuck, she couldn’t say no, Pat had been so nice to her as well and she was meaning to get to know Tash more when she had the chance. And even though Rose had the opportunity to say no, it seemed like she had no choice.

“Yeah, sure,” She said meekly.

“Tash knows the Muffliato charm. We can use it on Friday night and make as much noise as we like.” Tash looked flattered. 

“We can have a sleepover, us four. To celebrate our second week of classes?” Tash was the most into the idea.

“That sounds nice, I’m in. I’ll see you in class.” And Rose was on her way to lunch with James, realizing she forgot to ask about the Discman.


	4. First Year: Sleepover

September 15th, 2017

All through Friday, the only thing that Rose could think about was the sleepover. She was very excited to have friends. When she was little, she was only around family. Her mum insisted that Rose and Hugo were to go to a Muggle primary school. It was alright, but when you have a big family (The Weasleys, Grangers, and the Potters,) You’re bound to find a best friend at a family reunion or birthday party.

Rose’s best friend was James. Ever since they were little, she thought he was the coolest person ever. He never tried to be popular or outstanding, he tried to be his own person, not just a Potter. 

Rose could remember sneaking into the kitchens with James and stuffing their faces with sweets, or hiding in the bathroom when James was ten and Rose was eight, cutting off all their hair. It wasn’t that hard for James. But once he was done, he would help Rose finish the job. And after, they would watch television together while their mums regrew their hair and James would always ask for more. 

“Just to my shoulders!” He’d whine. 

“Next time, Jamie,” Aunt Ginny would say.

“You always say ‘next time’!” James whined a lot, but in a more amusing way than rude.

“And you always end up cutting it all off,” At this moment, Aunt Ginny would grab James into a hug, spinning him around. Rose could still hear James’ high pitched giggle. “You know, you could always let it grow out the regular way…” 

“I don’t want to be regular.” And that was when James found his motto.

The second on Rose's list was Albus. They were the same age and were always paired with each other if needed. Rose could remember making Albus laugh at her jokes or letting him rant about school back home. They always seemed to understand one another. But now, that was obviously not the case.

Rose started to think it was just growing up and drifting apart. But Albus was family, and there was nothing she could do to change that. So she made a plan to find Albus during their free period and reason with him. It was hard enough to find him, he was never around the general population of the school, always hiding and lurking with Scorpius. 

“James!” Rose called out while James was busy talking to a group of fourth-year boys. They all had cool looking hairstyles and pierced ears, but Rose was too timid to comment. “Where’s Albus?”

“I don’t know,” James said.

“Where does he usually go?” 

“Try the dungeons.” That frightened Rose a lot; she told herself that she wouldn’t go anywhere near the dungeons if it weren’t vital. “There’s a shortcut by the Quidditch pitch, I always see him and his friends there.” Rose thanked him and walked away, not fully taking in that James said ‘friends’ and not just ‘friend’. 

***

Rose found her way to the Quidditch pitch quite fine, it wasn’t much of a problem once she saw some students flying around on their brooms in the distance. It wasn’t hard to find by then. But it was hardest to believe who was the one flying. 

“Hey!” Rose yelled to the sky. “Albus!” He turned his head to look at her and proceeded to fly in the opposite direction. She didn’t catch who was with him because they had fled once Rose caught sight of them.

“Albus, please!” And he continued to ignore her, spinning around in circles in the sky.

Rose had no choice, she quickly spotted a couple of stray brooms on the field and mounted one. Her broom zoomed into the sky straight to Albus. She was so determined to get to him that she didn’t fully understand what she was doing, she had only had two flying lessons by then. 

“Albus Severus Potter, get down now!” Rose demanded once she was in earshot. She needed to talk to him, she just had to. “I have to speak with you!”

“No!”

“Miss Granger-Weasley!” Madame Hooch called before she blew her whistle. Rose swiftly came back down to the field, dragging the broom on her way to Hooch.

“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t interrupt my private lessons, Miss Granger-Weasley.” Madame Hooch kept a stern grip on her broom while talking to Rose. Rose returned the broom to its original spot. 

“Sorry, Madame Hooch,”

“Your skills are more suited for the pitch when you’re older.” Rose was too embarrassed to take the compliment. 

Rose walked in the direction of the dungeons James was talking about, still curious about her cousin’s hiding place.

It wasn’t too hard to find, there was an open window by the tower near the pitch. It was just small enough to fit her. Rose crawled inside once no one was around, which reminded her of the Muggle Secret Agent movies her dad loved to watch.

It was very dark and secluded, the only light came from the green flames that illuminated off the lanterns lining the wall, this was obviously near the Slytherin common room. Rose crept inside a little corner, looking around the room. 

All she could imagine was Albus and Scorpius hanging out in there. Sitting on the ground, talking, playing exploding snap. Rose could’ve sworn she saw ‘SCORPIUS WUZ HERE’ written on the brick wall. There were daisies on the floor with burnt pieces of parchment. 

Rose couldn’t help but feel jealous. Albus was able to make a friend, a best friend. She thought it was nice to have a few friends, and it is, but she couldn’t imagine getting close to Tash or Pat in that way. _She was just worried about the sleepover,_ she thought. James couldn’t be there, James was her safety net, he was familiar. 

“You found my hiding spot,” Rose heard Scorpius say through the window. He quickly climbed in, Rose was sure he found a technique having to climb in often. “You’re really good at flying, I’m rubbish.”

“That’s surprising,” Rose crossed her arms.

“Why?” 

“You’re a pure-blood…” Scorpius took a moment to take in her words, she was just thinking out loud.

“I thought you of all people wouldn’t care.” 

“It doesn’t matter to me.”

“Really?” Rose didn’t move. “Albus didn’t tell you about the lessons because he was embarrassed.” 

“Why would he be embarrassed?” Rose asked.

“ _You_ try having a famous father,” Scorpius said. And by that point, Rose couldn’t remember why she even bothered trying to talk to Malfoy. All she wanted was to leave. 

“Piss off, Malfoy.” And Rose left, finding an alternative exit past Slytherin commons. Rose saw Tash but shielded her sad face as much as she could.

***

For the rest of the day, Rose moved around like a ghost, just wanting to be secluded in her dorm. She didn’t want to have the sleepover anymore. She was fine with only James, she didn’t need anyone else. 

“Rose,” Evan said as she tapped Rose on the shoulder after their last class. “I just saw Pat and Tash near the Great Hall. If we eat fast and copy each other’s homework, we can start the sleepover in no time.” Rose let the words roll off of her back like rain. “I can help with Charms and Astronomy, Tash is great at History of Magic and Defence Against the Dark Arts, Pat can do Potions and Herbology. How are you with Transfiguration?”

“Peachy,” Rose said in a daze. “I can also do spell check.” 

“Perfect,” Evan made note of that in her head. “How’ve you been?” Just then, Pat joined and Rose couldn’t bear to answer.

“Hello, I finished my Herbology during my free period if anyone wanted help.” Rose was good at Herbology too, she kept reminding herself of that. “Evan, I also got the stuff.” 

“Fantastic!” Evan twirled around as they went to their table.

Rose ate with the others at the Hufflepuff table. Pat invited them but kept a quiet front as they finished their dinners. Rose kept thinking about the daisies on the dungeon floor and grew a habit of shifting her eyes to the Slytherin table, not thinking too deeply on how Pat would do the same. 

Tash asked them to wait for her by the entry, saying she needed to ask her head of house about something. That something, she wouldn’t say. And as Evan and Pat were playing their wizard version of Chopsticks, Tash quickly returned and they were on their way.

“Hey! Look what I found!” Tash caught up to them, holding a small sack beside her robes. Once the girls made it to a more desolate corridor, it was revealed to be packages upon packages of Honeydukes Chocolate Frogs.

“Where’d you get those?” Pat asked, quite surprised.

“Did you nick them from the kitchens?” Evan asked, looking around to see if anyone saw.

“I thought I could bring it to the party.” Tash spat out. Evan thought for a moment, it always seemed like she was the mediator of the group.

“Alright, did you finish your History of Magic work?” Tash looked nervous, and maybe a bit guilty for the chocolate. Maybe she did steal, she wouldn’t say. 

“Yes, I finished it at lunch.” Tash started to slouch like she was getting reprimanded. But Evan stopped and looked at her, gently taking the bag from her grip. 

A smile crept on Evan’s doll-like face. “...Well then I guess the chocolate can stay.” And she took it with a maniacal smirk. “I GET FIRST PICK!” Evan hollered down the corridor, progressing to a sprint down the empty hallway. Pat quickly ran after her, begging for at least one piece. Then Tash, who made an effort not to move too fast. Rose stayed behind, letting their cries of laughter turn into an echo down the hall. But once she finally got to the common room, seeing her three friends cozy on the couches, books open, they didn’t bother to ask her why. 

***

Pat gave all of her friends their own daisy chain crowns to wear at the sleepover. She was quite giddy about it, saying that they all looked like woodland fairies, Pat's dream occupation. “What’s this song called?” Pat got up off the couch, making her books and chocolate wrappers fall to the ground. It was about eight o’clock and all the girls changed into their pyjamas. Pat went and picked up the CD case. “ _Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine?”_ Pat jumped a bit once the guitar came in and turned it down a bit, for everyone’s sake, despite the fact that they were protected by the Muffliato spell.

“Quiz me!” Tash gave Evan her books, Rose was eating her last piece while looking through James’ CDs, trying to guess the genre by the cover or the name. 

“Um, what was the cause of the Gargoyle Strike of 1911?” Evan asked. Tash took a moment to think and stared at the ground to get her focus. Her crown drooped over her eyes.

“The Gargoyle Strike of 1911 was a wildcat strike of gargoyles." 

“What’s a wildcat—” 

“A ‘wildcat strike’ refers to the stopping of work by unionized workers without authorization from the union.”

“That’s right out of the book.” Evan looked amazed. “How much did you study these?”

“A bit much if I’m being honest.” Tash started to giggle and her cheeks got rosy. “But I want to know everything.”

“You should’ve been a Ravenclaw, with _your_ mind,” Rose said softly, not talking for most of the night. She kept close to Evan.

“But I’m a Slytherin. The difference is that I want to know everything, but I’ll do anything I can to get there. That’s what McGonagall told me.”

“When did she tell you that?” Pat came over with pints of pumpkin juice, passing them around to her friends.

“McGonagall had a meeting with me last week, to explain the sorting. I guess I didn’t look too happy.”

“Oh,” Evan just said, grabbing her hair wrap, it was getting late. All the girls stayed silent for a moment. “Pat, what’s your family like back home?” 

“Just me and my parents, we live in Ilkley, in Yorkshire.” 

“How is it there?” 

“Good, we have the Quidditch stadium near Ilkley Moor. Mum and dad take me there sometimes.” Pat twirled her hair. “I don’t like it much, though. What do you think, Rose?”

Rose froze. “Pardon?” 

“Do you like Quidditch?” 

“Yeah, I’m alright. My aunt played it for a while.” 

“Ginny Weasley, she was in the Holyhead Harpies, right?” Evan asked. 

“Yes, but only for a few years, then she had James,” Rose remembered what Madame Hooch said on the Quidditch pitch earlier that day. She was good enough to play, but not great enough to be asked to join early, She guessed. “What about you, Evan?” 

“Oh, I live in Godric’s Hollow, mum and dad are professors at Ilvermorny.” 

“Ilvermorny?” Rose repeated. “But that’s in North America, in a different continent.” Rose started to ease up and shifted to a more comfortable sitting position. 

“They’re amazing at apparition. They lead the lessons there for the sixth-years.” 

“Wow! That’s cool!” Tash exclaims. “I can't wait to apparate.” 

“I can give you a bit of the lesson, I always overhear my parents rehearse their introduction in the winter.” Evan took Tash’s hands and they went to the open space in the room. Tash and Pat peered over the couches to get the best view. 

Evan straightened her crown around her head, walked around the spot very stern with her hands behind her back. “Now,” Evan spoke in a low voice, expressing a lot with her hands as her father would. “...the three D's of apparition are as follows: Destination,” Tash ran around Evan pretending like she was driving a car. 

“...Determination,” Pat shot up and gave an army salute and punched the air like a boxer. Rose wondered where Pat would hear about boxers or soldiers in Wizard Ilkley. 

“...and Deliberation.” Rose quickly picked herself up and went over to the other, Evan waited for her response like a line in a play. 

“Uh, what does deliberation even mean?” She asked and the other girls started laughing, they all laughed together. And Rose lost breath and flopped around like a fool, they stuffed their faces with chocolate and danced to the music, flinging their crowns in the air like graduation caps. She couldn’t think of the dungeons or the daisies. She didn’t think of Albus and his friends, because she had her own. 


	5. First Year: Daisy Chain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shorter than usual, but higher stakes!! Hope you enjoy :)

Throughout the weekend and the week afterwards, Rose only ate with her friends. They went to classes together, Rose always had someone to walk with, Tash would especially fill her in on any secrets about curriculum or lesson plans she’d overhear her teachers say, or they would just talk about their days.

“You know my cousin, right? Albus?” Rose asked Tash on their way to Transfiguration. 

“Yeah,” Tash replied a bit reproachfully. 

“Does he have any friends?” Rose asked. “Any _other_ than Scorpius?” 

“Not that I’ve seen, I don’t see much of those two either.” Tash got a bit red in her olive complexion. And Rose soon learned that the biggest friendship obstacle they had yet to face was trust. 

She went to Transfiguration, listening to the lessons with meek attention. 

“Miss Granger-Weasley?” Rose didn’t even notice Professor McGonagall walking up to her desk. Rose looked up at her. “What was it that Mr. Finnigan failed in order to turn this matchbox into a needle?”

Rose paused, she was better on her feet, much like her mother. “Concentrate?” McGonagall stepped back and examined Rose. She sat up straight, her red hair tied back in a low ponytail. Her eyes tended to wander, and she caught it this time.

“I would say the same for you.” And she continued with the lesson. Rose looked over at her peers and caught a glimpse of Scorpius and Albus whispering at each other.

As they left for lunch, Rose trailed behind Albus once he was alone. “Albus? Can I talk to you?” 

Albus turned around. Rose noticed how long Albus’s hair had gotten. It shot in different directions, hanging like a willow tree. “Okay,” He said quietly and they moved to the courtyard. It had been pretty gloomy that day, the leaves had started turning colour and the red in her robes and hair stood out more than ever.

“Scorpius told me about the flying lessons.” Albus tried to leave, he looked embarrassed just like he did when McGonagll mentioned the war and everyone stared. Rose got in his way. “You should have told me.”

“We don’t talk that much already.” He stated, and Rose couldn’t deny it. “And why are you talking to Scorpius?”

“It doesn’t matter.” Rose gripped on her books.

“Yes, it does—” Rose cut him off.

“Is he your only friend?” Rose asked quickly, like ripping off a bandaid. Albus didn’t talk for a moment.

“What if he was?” Albus said back. It was that moment that Rose heard the emotion in Albus’s voice for a long time. “Why do you care?”

“I’m your family, Albus.” 

“Then why don’t you ignore me like a regular cousin, you were doing great on your own.” 

“No, I wasn’t.” 

“So why did you hate me?” Rose kept quiet and timid, not looking at him, and Albus knew the answer. “Stupid question. I have to go study,” Albus said plainly, and he left.

Rose had a lot of determination in her stride. She wasn’t thinking much because of it but she knew she had to go to the dungeons. But she got stopped by Professor Longbottom. 

“Rose, there you are!” He said cheerfully. This time he was wearing a green velvet dress shirt and a brown smock, he was definitely on the go. “Just the person that I wanted to see “ Rose gave a polite smile and Professor Longbottom gave her a folded piece of parchment. 

“I wanted to return your’s and Scorpius’ assignment.”

“You didn’t return any of the others.” Rose took it and gently, feeling like it wasn’t her’s.

“Yes, but I just want you two to look it over one more time, You two got the highest mark. I plan to put it as a display in my classroom, and give future first-years an example to follow.” Rose blushed a bit.

“Oh, wow, thank you, Professor, I’ll check it in no time.” Rose began to leave. 

“Don’t forget to tell Scorpius!” That made Rose stop her stride for a moment, slow down her pace as she entered the belly of the beast.

***

Rose crept into the small corner where she saw a figure curled up. It was a blob of black, and as the hint of white grew into her view, the sight of Scorpius Malfoy reading a book was what she saw. She cleared her throat to speak.

“Professor Longbottom returned our project, he wants us to look it over before he makes it a display. It’s fine with me.” Rose extended her arm that held the paper. Scorpius turned around.

“Thank you,” And he took it. As he read it over, Rose kept standing. Rose stared at the dimly lit crawl space, only suited for a few people. There were new marks on the ground from exploding snap, a new chilling breeze came from the window, and a basket of daisies in the corner. “Looks fine—”

“What’s with the daisies?” Scorpius looked at her confused, then got the memo.

“Oh,” He handed back the paper. “They were a gift.” 

“From who?” 

“None of your concern.” He stumbled on his words, a bit taken by surprise.

“Really? Cause I think it is.” Rose got closer, she deserved to know, Pat was _her_ friend. “Pat Elliott,”

“What?”

“She picked daisies a couple of weeks ago. She makes daisy chains.” Rose felt like a detective, wanting to pace the room and shine Lumos on Scorpius’ face to make him break.

“Good for her.” Scorpius went back to his book, but Rose wasn’t finished.

“I know she made you one, I’m not that thick!” Rose made an echo in the crawl space and Scorpius put his book away. “I saw your bracelet in the Great Hall.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yes you do.” Scorpius stayed quiet, staring at her, he looked frightened and didn’t know what to say, all they could hear was each other’s breathing. “Fine, I’m getting Albus—” Rose turned herself around to leave, but Scorpius jumped out of the corner and grabbed for Rose’s arm to stop her.

“No!” She turned around and yanked his hand from her arm. She was too shocked and angry to think of a reply. “You don’t understand!”

“Then make me understand!” 

Scorpius couldn’t think of anything. He just stared at Rose, the vexation that carried in the lines of her face. She truly hated him and no matter how much he wanted it to end, keeping quiet made it worse. And that was his only choice.

“Why did I even try?” She said to herself as she folded the parchment and turned around to leave, her robes fanned in the turn.


	6. First Year: Yellow/Green Auxilium

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A chat with Headmistress McGonagall...

Rose was just down the hall when she was stopped by none other than Professor McGonagall.

“Rose,” She stopped. The Headmistress had never called her by her first name. There was this maternal tone to her voice that made Rose miss her mom again, and wanted to throw all her anger in McGonagall’s embrace. “Would you please come into my office?”

Rose nodded, and she joined the Headmistress on the platform which spun around to their destination, it was like an amusement park ride, and the mundane slow speed made her think of how slow those moments felt, and how happy she was, and how angry she was now. 

She had gone on one of those rides with Albus last summer. He screamed the whole time, in slow motion it felt like a roar that encapsulated their youthful energy to the decaying fire it was now. Rose could feel his echo the entire way. 

The Headmistress’ office was beautiful. Every inch had the presence of a whimsical instrument or bookshelf of sorts, a fireplace off to the side that warmed the room and made it smell like cedar, any wall that wasn’t taken up by a window or a bookshelf was covered in portraits of past Headmasters. 

“Professor?” Rose asked once she fully entered, her eyes gazing through every painting, every old man stared back at her, some even waved.

“Yes?” McGonagall said as she returned to her desk, and Rose made full eye contact with her once she spoke. She had a faint confused look on her face.

“Why are there no other Headmistresses?” She asked eagerly as she made her way to the chair next to her. 

“I beg your pardon?” Professor asked and Rose could tell that she had never been asked that before. 

“Are you the first woman, Headmistress?” And once Professor McGonagall understood, she let out a chuckle. 

“Oh, yes. Yes, I am.” 

“...Well, you’re my favourite,” Rose said softly, and Professor McGonagall smiled. 

“Thank you...Now, I’ve asked you to speak with me in regards to Mr. Malfoy.” And Rose’s delighted expression faded. “It is not hard for me to tell that there is some malice between you two.”

“It’s not because of his house, Professor.”

“I know,” The Headmistress stopped her. “And I couldn’t help but overhear your argument in regards to Miss Elliott.” Rose looked timid, not knowing what to say, it felt like she’d been caught. 

“Am I going to lose house points, Professor?” Rose asked.

“No,” Professor McGonagall stood up out of her chair and moved closer to her. She then sat against her desk, crouching down until she was about the same level as Rose. “There is a program Professor Longbottom and I introduced almost a decade ago.”

“What was it, Professor?”

“It’s called the yellow/green auxilium, a companion. One thing that Headmasters and Professors have noticed throughout the years in Hogwarts is the compatibility between Slytherins and Hufflepuffs.” Rose wondered for a moment. And was confused, thinking of a sweet daisy-like being, like Pat, with a dark green snake in the murky dungeons. Nothing good could ever come from that. 

“You might not understand it, but there is a trustworthy explanation. Would you like to hear it?” Rose thought for a moment and ultimately nodded.

“Slytherins are cunning and determined, a Hufflepuff is loyal and kind. Slytherins may be drawn to Hufflepuff's loyalty and open-mindedness, and maybe that Slytherin will eventually be able to let their guard down around them, do you follow?” Rose nodded, thinking about Tash and Pat. McGonagall moved over to the window, peering out of it. 

“Hufflepuffs keep Slytherins balanced and calm when their ambitious endeavours don't turn out as planned. Slytherins keep Hufflepuffs motivated. Due to historical events that I am sure you know enough about, many Slytherin first-years come to me asking to be re-sorted. Would you by chance know why?” Rose thought for a moment and gave another nod at the Headmistress.

“I would like to share with you two Slytherin first-years to first come to me to be changed this year.” Rose could tell that it was Albus, he was beyond embarrassed to be a Slytherin, a _Slytherin_ Potter. 

“Tash O’Neill and Scorpius Malfoy.” The Headmistress said.

“Pardon?” 

“Mr. Malfoy was my first visitor, Miss Granger-Weasley. He’d come to find me, begging me to put the hat back on him. He didn’t want to be an evil, mean, blood supremacist. He wanted to be different from what people expected. And I explained to him that his house didn’t mean he was evil, and it’s his choices that make that.” She went on.

“I assigned Miss Elliot to Mr. Malfoy by instinct, and I noticed that she is a friend of yours?” Rose nodded. “I’m sure you’re aware of her acts of kindness?” She nodded again.

“Miss Elliot would spend time with Mr. Malfoy in passing, they’d study, talk about their days, just like you two.” Rose didn’t know how to feel, it was almost like she was getting cheated on. “When Mr. Malfoy would have a particularly hard day, Miss Elliot would send him notes of kindness just to get him through. And when Miss Elliot would get a not-so-good grade or miss her parents, he would draw her a picture or inspire her to do well on a test.” McGonagall looked back at Rose, she had a blank face full of thought. 

“I know you feel inclined to hate him for his name and family, but there’s much more in a person, I can assure you.” The way that McGonagall looked at Rose made her want to cry, she felt this wave of guilt fall over her like a shadow. The Headmistress’s voice had this desperation to it. _Was she the problem? Was she the bad guy?_ She couldn’t bear to think any further and got out of her seat. 

“You may be dismissed.” the woman said to her and Rose walked quickly through the exit and the halls. She went straight to her dorms where she saw her owl, Dixie with a bundle of letters. Rose sat gently on her bed and took the parcel, carefully opening the first one.

Dear Rosie, 

You got through your first few weeks of school, you’re doing amazing. When I was your age, I was dreadful and I had my brothers with me! You’re on your own for now, and you’re doing incredibly, definitely got that from your mum.

Speaking of your mum, she’s doing wonderfully at the ministry with the House-Elf Rights Conferences, I know you were worried about that. Hugo moved his legos with magic today, no sooner I’ll be in the air myself. 

See you at Christmas, talk to you soon, 

Dad

***

To the Sweetest Daughter in the World, 

Congratulations on your Outstanding in your Herbology assignment! Professor Longbottom told us right away! How has it been? Are you eating enough? What are your friends like? I’m sure your dad told you about Hugo. In a blink of an eye, he’s going to be on the Hogwarts Express with you and Albus and James and Lily, I tear up just thinking about it. 

My conferences are going smoothly, the Dobby Act will be passed in no time. It relieves me to know that children won’t be in a school run by slaves. 

I called Headmistress McGonagall about how you’re doing, she mentioned Scorpius Malfoy and how you two aren’t getting along. I know it pains you to know what I went through in school, but I hear he’s a lovely boy. Your dad and I had a chat with Draco and Astoria Malfoy and we plan to visit them on holiday once you come back.

I know it’s hard, but it’ll all be figured out. 

Love you to pieces, 

Mum

Rose’s mother drew millions of hearts on any blank spot on the page.

***

Dear Rose

How is it like there? I’m sure you have so many friends. The teachers at Willowbrooke wished you luck at ‘boarding school’, I tried not to giggle. I moved my legos last week, I’m going to be the best wizard ever!!

We’re visiting the Malfoys on holiday, mum says it’s to show kindness and forgive. I heard how you’re fighting with their son, don’t get in trouble or you’ll be sent home and I’ll be the only Granger-Weasley. 

Love, 

Hugo :)

And on the other side of the page was a drawn family portrait. One with Rose and Hugo and their parents, all holding wands, wearing robes. On the top, he wrote ‘Magic Heros’. Rose stuck it on her wall by her bed. 


	7. First Year: Muggle Tunes

September 29th, 2017

The letters were all that Rose thought about as she got ready. She pulled her socks up slowly, carefully buckled her shoes, her robes wrapped around her as so did her thoughts. Her mum said it felt like it was all moving so quickly, but Rose started counting the days to when it would all be over. It felt crazy, but those letters made her want to see Albus. Any glimpse of her family would ease her homesickness. 

“Rose! Get it together, you don’t want to be late for breakfast!” Margaret Wood came into Rose’s dorm all spic and span, she had one tight braid going all the way down her back. Margaret was the Gryffindor Prefect and head of the choir. She was, however, dreadful at flying on a broom. 

“Alright, I’m almost ready,” Rose could admit that she was dilly-dallying, the mellow tones of the sky didn’t help.

“Very well, G.W. Did you know we call you that? ‘ _G.W._ ’?”

“No, I’m afraid not.”

“It’s just a thing the older girls like to do. We give all the first-year girls nicknames.” Margret told her. “But I thought I could tell you.” That made Rose smile, she felt special.

“May I ask, what are the other ones?” Margaret crossed her arms. 

“Sorry, it’s a secret. And breakfast is the most important meal of the day, G.W.” And Rose quickly left the common room to the Great Hall.

Rose decided to eat at the Gryffindor table and ate her food in silence. But soon, Evan came to sit with her. Today, her hair was put in long braids down her head, bits of the braids had charms in them, purple and blue. 

“I’m joining the choir.” 

“Are you serious?” Rose looked at her in amazement.

“Margaret liked my singing, asked if I was part-mermaid. Oh, I wish.” Evan continued with her meal.

“How did you get your hair like that?” Rose asked. “Did you use the hair braiding charm?” 

“Yeah, my mum sometimes would do it the no-mag way, it hurt like Hades. So I thought I’d learn it to save time.” 

“My Aunt Angie has hair like yours, she does it all the time with my cousins.”

“Do they go here?” 

“Only Fred, he’s a fifth-year, great quidditch player. Roxanne’s starting next year.” 

“It’s nice to know that I won’t be alone,” Evan said, and Rose looked up at her. “I’ll have more people that look like me.” Rose smiled and continued with her food. 

“When’s the first choir performance?” Rose asked. 

“In a few weeks, the Muggle studies class is having a lunch-in with a few presentations, they want us to sing Muggle songs.” 

“Wicked! Have you guys picked any songs yet?”

“Lockie Mae is dead set on this one called _Video Killed the Radio Star._ He’s a Muggle-born so Margaret is basing a lot of stuff off of what he tells her.” Evan takes a moment and giggles to herself. 

“What is it, Evan?” Rose giggles back and Evan inches closer to Rose, whispering in her ear. 

“Margaret likes Lockie.” 

“What?” Rose covered her mouth at this new piece of information. 

“I heard the older girls after our rehearsal, she’s going to ask him on a date after the performance.”

“Isn’t she older than him?” Rose asked, stirring her bowl.

“Maybe, but only like a year. But I’m sure she has good intentions, she asked Pat last week to make a daisy arrangement.” 

“You’re kidding!” Rose’s eyes widened, and at that moment, she felt at home.

***

During History of Magic, Rose sat beside Albus with no questioning from Professor Binns, he always had his back to them anyway. She could feel her cramp as she wrote down her notes on the Werewolf Code of Conduct, to which she turned her head to Tash, she viciously scribbled her notes with a spare quill behind her ear which looked like a feather hair accessory.

So far, Rose was doing very well in school. She tried her best but sometimes didn’t feel like she needed to study as Tash did, but to think of it, it was more like Tash wanted to.

Albus also was jotting down in his notebook, looking up and down to make sure he didn’t lose his place or ran out of time before Binns would vanish the chalk. 

Everyone left the classroom like they just came out of a particularly long film, Tash shook her head a couple of times to keep focus, trying to get the lines of chalk out of her head.

“the Werewolf Code of Conduct was ultimately a failure, seeing as no one showed up to sign it since no one was prepared to admit to being a werewolf due to the great stigma among the wizarding society.” Tash recited, hugging her textbook, Rose put her arm around her. 

“Exams are in eight months, Tash.” 

“I should probably go take a nap in Madame Pomfrey’s, I spent all night reciting basic defensive spells,” Tash said as she slung her rucksack over herself and made her way down the hall, and Rose spotted Albus. 

She caught up to him and slowly approached once he saw her, he didn’t leave.

“Hugo sent me a letter,” Albus said. 

“Did he?”

“Yes, he told me about the legos. He’s a force to be reckoned with.” Albus and Rose let out a chuckle together. “He told me about Scorpius, you’re visiting on holiday?”

“Looks like it,” Rose replied. “Mum and dad organized it.”

“It’s just…” Albus stopped for a moment. “I’m also seeing the Malfoys on holiday, I think we’re going together.” 

“Did your mum say that?” 

“No, they haven’t told me anything. Hugo said that you’re visiting them the day after Christmas and Scorpius invited me on for the same day.” 

“So my parents and I will have to show our forgiveness and gratitude while you’re playing exploding snap with Scorpius?” Rose was displeased.

“You can play with us?” Albus suggested, and Rose gave another laugh and was on her way.


	8. First Year: Halloween

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone reading my fic !! I really appreciate it !! leave comments, tell me what you think... I'm thinking about changing the title and I need some ideas...

October 31st, 2017

Halloween at Hogwarts was just like James described it to her. Pumpkins floated above tables, the ghosts especially had fun, and everyone pulled pranks. Just that morning, Fred planted Dungbombs in James’s trunk, ruining all of his clothes. Just until he washed them, of course. 

“Quite juvenile, if you ask me. I mean, what fifth-year plays with Dungbombs?” James ranted in the common room while Rose finished her Herbology notes. 

“Fred Weasley the second,” Rose answered, her eyes glued to her pages. She wanted to draw pictures for reference, the reference for her reference being Scorpius’ sketch of the Fanged Geranium. 

“And! I was going to wear my ripped jeans to the party!” James said.

“What party?” Rose asked as she put away her things.

“Older kid stuff, the cap is at third-years. You’ll get to go when you’re older.” James ruffled Rose’s ginger hair. 

“Fine by me.” Rose crossed her arms with a smile.

On the way to the Great Hall, James had many more people waving and greeting him than usual. Rose looked at him confused. 

“I’m the DJ,” He told her.

“A _what_?”

“I’m playing music for the party.” 

“Oh, so you press a button and put the discs on?” 

“This is different, Rose! They asked for Muggle music! These kids have never been exposed to the greats like _Blur_ or _Pulp.”_ James made motions with his hands for effect.

“Those are just sounds to me, James,” Rose said and James threw his arm around his cousin sympathetically. 

“Like... _Taylor Swift!”_ He exclaimed and Rose playfully nudged him. Momentarily, Tash and Pat approached them. 

Tash had very wild makeup on with dark circles around her eyes finished with pale pink lipstick. Her hair, in messy pigtails. 

“What happened to you?” Rose asked rather concernedly, Tash looked dead or extremely dehydrated. 

“No one else is wearing scary makeup. I thought that since we need to stay in our robes, I could make up for the lack of Halloween costume.” Tash looked around shyly as everyone stared.

“You look petrified,” James told her. “...in more ways than one.” Tash put her face in her hands to cover herself. 

“Pat,” Rose started as she rubbed Tash’s back. “Did you _not_ tell her?” 

“I support her choices of makeup, even if I don’t understand it myself,” Pat explained, also comforting Tash. “What’s a Tailor Swift? Is that a new type of wand?”

***

The day consisted of noisy ghosts roaming the halls and Professor Longbottom giving his students a lesson on the scariest looking plants in his possession. When he showed the class a pot of Venomous Tentacula, Rose couldn’t help but notice Scorpius wincing in fear along with her other classmates. This time, however, she laughed with him instead of at him, he returned the favour once she saw the Fanged Geranium up close.

Once the day ended and the girls were finished with their homework, Rose and Tash decided that it would be nice to dress Evan and Pat up for Halloween, seeing as that they had never been exposed to Muggle culture like their two friends.

Rose asked Pat what she would like to dress up as, and with very much enthusiasm, Pat chose a woodland fairy. 

“Can you put sparkles on my face, Rose? I collected some branches and flowers last week, maybe you could put them in my hair or maybe I could use my crowns!” Pat came running back from Hufflepuff commons with a yellow flower t-shirt dress she found at the bottom of her trunk. 

“Whatever you would like, Pat,” Rose said as she sat Pat down and started braiding her hair. Tash was right beside them, doing Evan’s makeup.

“What do muggles do on Halloween?” Evan asked, trying to keep her eyes closed her the sake of Tash’s eyeshadow work.

“We go trick-or-treating…” Pat gave a confused look. “Kids go door to door and ask for candy.” 

“That sounds lovely!” Pat exclaims.

“Quite dangerous,” Evan added sweetly. “But I understand the interest.” 

“Evan, what are you going to be for Halloween?” Pat asked once Rose started her make-up.

“Tash told me about these creatures who live in space. I want to live in space one day, so I thought I could be that.” Evan was talking about aliens. 

“How about we give you an alien name, Evan?” Tash suggested.

“Ooh, I like the sound of that! How about Evie!” Evan said with a bright smile.

“Well, that would just be wonderful!” Pat replied. “ _Evie: The Creature From Jupiter!”_ And as they all were roaring with laughter, James came into the common room with Albus. James looked normal, apart from his hair, which was a mix of maroon and yellow-ish gold spots. 

“Are you girls dressing up?” He asked with Albus by his side. Rose stood up astonished.

“What happened to your hair?” Rose got a closer look and could see that Albus was laughing. “What did he do?” 

“Hair dyeing charm! Teddy taught me last summer. I’m dressed like a punk for Halloween!” James displayed his clothes for Rose and the girls to see. After all, he did get his ripped jeans back to normal.

“You sure act the part as well,” She commented, and Albus and the girls started laughing.

“Would a real punk hold so much house pride?” Albus asked Rose, James then moved his head around to show his dye job even more. “Red and gold!” Albus and Rose shared a laugh.

James quickly had to leave to sort out his song list for the party. Albus hesitantly joined the girls as they finished their costumes.

“Hi, Albus!” Pat said, twirling around in her makeshift fairy costume.

“What do you think of our costumes?” Tash asked, slowly giving a turn. 

“Dashing, and how are you guys going to eat your dinner like that?” Albus looked up at the girls, cross-legged, cocking his eyebrow, genuinely curious.

“Like usual, Potter!” Pat argued.

“Yes, I know. But, it’s not normal for wizards.” Albus sounded like he was trying to help the girls. He was never one who wanted to stand out, that was James’ job.

“Well then I guess we’re not normal then, aren’t we?” Said a quiet Evanora Walsh as she got up and extended her hand for Albus to shake it. “What’s your name again?” She asked.

“Albus Severus Potter.” He answered the sweet girl with stars in her braids and silver eyeshadow. 

“I’ve seen your name before, in the portrait hall, in the cupboard.” Evan looked over to Rose, who took Albus’s hand and led him to the seed of all of his confusion.

***

“I never thought that I’d be the one to bring you here.” Rose stared. “I heard about this place on my first day, they didn’t know I was a Weasley then.” Rose sat on the hallway floor with Albus as he stared up at the two men in the portraits, the two men staring back at him were Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape.

“Hello there, young boy.” The man with the white long beard greeted, “Do you have a question for me, you don’t want to miss your Halloween feast.” Rose stood up at the portrait of the old man sitting in a chair, the contentment in his face seemed to frighten her. 

“I’m Rose Granger-Weasley,” She started, and the old man in the chair gave a smile, which then made her smile. Rose felt like the man understood her, in ways that didn’t need to be mentioned as if the man in the chair knew her in a past life. “And this is Albus Severus Potter.” 

“Albus Severus Potter,” The man repeated, and he stood up from his chair to get a better look at Albus. 

“Call me Al,” Albus told the portrait, for which the man gave him a proud smile.

“Severus, we have a visitor.” And just then the man in black in the portrait beside Dumbledore turned around to reveal his face. 

“A Potter, in _Slytherin_?” the man asked. Rose could tell that Albus got tense when he said that.

“Yes, sir,” Albus replied. Rose was proud to be related to Albus. After a couple of goodbyes to the old Headmasters, Rose left Albus alone to spend Halloween with the men that came before him.

***

At dinner, Rose had to sit at Gryffindor table with James, who was having a chat with Margaret Wood. Rose noticed Scorpius over at the Slytherin table looking over his shoulder. She could see Tash try to strike a conversation but he would quickly leave her hanging. Rose could see his eyes move over to her, to which he got up out of his seat and made his way to the Gryffindor table with packages of chocolate frogs.

“Have you seen Albus?” He asked, standing behind her to which Rose had to turn around to face him.

“He’s busy, private stuff.” She explained. “I don’t think he’ll be back anytime soon. Talk to Tash.” 

“She scares me, the bags under her eyes are insane, I can’t even look at her.” Scorpius stared back at Tash who wore a very convincing ghost costume.

“She doesn’t actually look like that. It’s makeup, Scorpius. We’re celebrating Muggle Halloween.” Scorpius looked at her confused. 

“What else does that entail?” He asked warily.

“Give me your chocolate frog, it’s tradition.” She gave him a mischievous smile and he handed it over. 

“I’ll get you back for that, Granger-Weasley!” He declared with a smile and went back to his table. 

Rose was happy that evening. In the main common room, Rose sat with Pat, Evan, and Tash and told scary stories until it was time to go to bed. 

“Happy Halloween, Rose,” Pat said and she hugged Rose, knowing that this was her best Halloween yet.

Rose entered Gryffindor tower to see Margaret Wood running around, asking Professor Longbottom for assistance. Everyone was there. James, Devon Finnegan, and soon Professor Longbottom. 

“What happened, Margaret?” Professor Longbottom, wearing his night robes. 

“Somebody set fire to my dorm!” Margaret declared. 

“I’m sure it was an accident,” Professor Longbottom tried to reassure her. But once Rose came onto the scene, he looked at her with eyes of worry.

“James?” Rose asked perplexed. “What’s happened?” James hesitated, Margaret leaped in front of them. 

“Your robes, they caught fire. Somebody threw a firework into our dorm. I tried to cast _Aguamenti_ but—”

“My _what_?” Rose pushed past them and into the cloud of clearing smoke. She opened her dorm door and was greeted by smoke and slowly dying sparkes of fire. At the center of the room was a pile of burnt fabric. Upon further inspection, Rose discovered that it was indeed her robes, all of them. 

Her heart burned in her chest, all she could think about was the trip to Diagon Alley with her parents and the special fitting she got for those robes. She couldn’t fully grasp the concept of money, but she understood the look on her father’s face when the owner added all the prices together. 

Rose looked around the room, at every angle of the ash. Eventually, she spotted something near the window sill: a chocolate frog wrapper, and it all came back to her. 

“There used to be a saying in Hogwarts,” Her Uncle George filled her in when they arrived at Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes after her robe fitting last summer. “‘Red hair and hand me down robes, must be a Weasley!” 

“Yeah, but it was mostly Malfoy, he was such a gitt.” Her father said as he restocked some shelves. He went back into a section that he never told her about. She never really thought about it because her father would usually return with a new thing to say, that section was never referred to _ever_.

“You’ll be different, Rosie.” He said to her. “These robes, they’ll be like your armour, nobody can bug you, not even a Malfoy.” And then her Uncle George would playfully whack him or crack a joke to ease the tension. 

And as Rose looked down at the ashes of her armour, she regretted the day that she was ever nice to a Malfoy.


	9. Boiling Point for Burnt Robes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fun Muggle music and sweet revenge

There were many things to Muggle life that Rose was exposed to in her upbringing. After the war, the bridge between Muggle and Wizard had thinned out, except for secrecy, of course.

Rose’s parents would take her and Hugo to shops in London and see their grandparents. Rose would remember listening to the radio in her grandparents’ kitchen and performing a random dance piece with Hugo for them all. She remembers their computer and their television. Her father was studying to get a Muggle driver’s licence so her mum was the one who drove them around. 

Last summer before her first year, her mum even took Rose upstairs during one of their visits and showed her her childhood bedroom. It stayed exactly as she left it. 

“Come here, sweetie.” Her mum said to her, Rose moved over to her mum’s old bed that still felt brand new. She bounced on it a few times while her mum searched her bedside table. Soon pulling out a purple book. The cover was worn and her mother held it with such care, transferring it to Rose’s hands, she was confused.

“What is this?” Rose asked.

“This is my diary, I started writing it when I started school. Every summer I wrote down everything I could remember from that year.” 

“About Uncle Harry and Dad?” She asked. “About the stone and the chamber?” Her mother nodded. 

“Everything.” Her mum declared. “I’m giving it to you.”

“When can I read it?” Rose asked.

“Whenever you need me.” 

***

November 4th, 2017

Pat dragged Rose and Tash to the Muggle lunch-in that Saturday afternoon. It was being held in the Great Hall as most things are, but this time the tables were pushed back against the walls and the floors were covered in pillows and blankets. The podium had a banner draped behind it that said ‘Muggle Studies Lunch-In’ in pretty cursive writing. Rose sat near the front to get the best view of when the choir came on. 

Once it was almost about to start, Pat spotted Albus and Scorpius waiting to find a spot to sit in the back.

“Can they join us?” Pat asked.

“No,” Rose answered quickly. “It’s crowded already.” It was pretty warm in there. Luckily, Rose was able to wear her day clothes instead of her one robe that was left after the fire. 

“Okay,” Pat replied softly. The three of them then turned their attention to the banner. “What’s that on the left?” Pat was referring to the picture of a vacuum on the side of the banner.

“They’re used for _what_?” Pat asked in astonishment.

“To clean your carpets!” Tash repeated before shushing her once two upperclassmen came up to the podium. The girl at the podium was giving a presentation on the use of television and radios in the Muggle world, explaining different TV channels and Muggle news stations, segwaying into the choir’s first song.

_They took the credit for your second symphony_

_Rewritten by machine and new technology_

_And now I understand the problems you can see_

The choir sang with such joy and laughter, singing about gadgets and gizmos of the Muggle world. The Charms teacher, Professor Flitwick, was conducting the choir while Lockie cheerfully played the piano, putting his hair back into a ponytail so he could see the keys.

Rose could see Evan off to the side in the second row. Margaret was in the back, closest to Lockie. Rose couldn’t take her eyes off of them, it gave her such joy to hear them sing in such fascination. She even turned around for a moment to catch a glimpse of Albus and Scorpius. They were listening too, just as she was. 

The smile on Scorpius’ face made Rose’s fade into a glare. Her robes were burnt, her armour was gone and as far as she was concerned, he was going to pay for it. She just didn’t know how. 

Rose paid all of her attention to the rest of the presentations and performances with a pit in her stomach, waiting for the moment to get Malfoy back.

***

November 7th 2017

Rose had no choice at this point, she was forced to wear the only robe she had, and it smelt bad. She swallowed her pride and went to class as usual, but took it off any chance she had. 

But the elements were against Rose on Herbology. It was the top of November when it really started to get cold. And the greenhouse was no exception, Rose tended to Wolfsbane and Wormwood draped in her smell cloak. She was far too focused on her work to realize that her classmates were keeping their distance. 

“Rose?” Pat approached her in the greenhouse with a kind and warm face. 

“Yes?” Rose turned around and could see that Pat got a waft of Rose’s body odour that clung to the fabric. She was embarrassed and stubborn and didn’t need anyone saying anything to her face, especially Pat. Rose passed her and came back into the classroom, she flung her cloak on her chair, which made the class make a face. 

_‘I should not have sprayed it with perfume!’ She thought. ‘It just makes it worse!’_

“What’s that smell! It smells like rotting strawberry!” Devon Finnigan exclaimed, to which the whole class burst into laughter. Rose loved how they were free to laugh and joke around in Herbology, it just felt juvenile when she became the bud of the joke.

Rose could feel herself crying as she sat at her desk, waiting for the laughter to die out and for the class to end. It wasn’t until Professor Longbottom came to speak with her that her sadness turned into anger. 

“Rose?” he asked, and she looked up at him in anger. _He_ was the one who made them partners. _He_ was the one to make the Auxilium and take Pat away. _He_ was the one that made Rose like Scorpius for a little bit, just until he showed who he was.

“You’re the one who made me be nice to him! But I hate him!” The class got quiet and Rose got out of her seat. 

“Rose…” Professor Longbottom said softly as Rose got up and pointed an angry finger at Scorpius.

“HE BURNT MY ROBES! MY PARENTS PAID A LOT OF MONEY FOR MY ROBES AND HE BURNT THEM!” 

Rose could feel her tears fall as Evan and Pat tried to console her. Tash stayed back with the rest of the class and stared directly at Scorpius, who was looking at the floor.

“HE WANTED ME TO LOOK POOR! LIKE A _REAL_ WEASLEY! PROFESSOR, YOU KNOW WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT.” 

Pat took Rose’s hand but she pulled it away. Now it felt like it was just Pat, Rose, and Scorpius. 

“I know you’re friends with him, I know about the auxilium. But I don’t care! He’s evil and I hate him!” And Rose took out her wand, turning to Scorpius’ guilty stare. “ _Levicorpus_!” And Rose pushed past Professor Longbottom and ran out of the classroom. Hearing the echoes of Scorpius’s yelp as he flew up and into the ceiling, the jinx had worked.

***

Rose sat in her dorm alone while she read her mother’s diary. She read about how her mother was kind and headstrong like her. How she went on adventures and made friends, even about how she was teased in school by a boy in her class. He made her cry and was very rude. She related to that quite profoundly. But that was until she found out that the boy she was talking about was her father.

Rose put the book on her trunk and stared at the fabric draped above her bed. She wallowed in her anger and resentment. 

“G.W.?” Margaret Wood slowly entered the dorm, lightly knocking on the door. “Your cousin is here, he would like to talk to you.” Rose sat up and wiped her eyes, she could hear Jame’s footsteps grow closer but she was too pitiful to look at him and say hi.

“Albus told me…” James told her. “Scorpius told him it was an accident.” 

“I don’t believe him, James.” She crossed her arms. “They were my special robes!” 

“I know,” James put his arm around her with comfort. “McGonagall mailed your parents about it.” 

“I’m in trouble, aren’t I?” She asked. 

“Yeah…” He said apologetically. “But it’s only one detention, Friday.”

Rose wasn’t that upset. Fridays were usually reserved for her and her friends, but after today she was under the impression that she was alone.

“There’s another thing, Rose,” James started.

“What is it?” Rose looked in curiosity. And James tried his best to mind his tone of voice, knowing how Rose can be. But it didn’t matter, she was upset either way.

“You’re spending detention with Malfoy…” 


	10. First Year: Detention

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They both speak their mind in the late hours on the Quidditch field...

After the incident in Herbology class, Rose avoided all of her friends. She started to realize how nasty she seemed. But it was _Malfoy_. _He_ deserved it.

“You jinxed Scorpius?” Albus caught up to her in the hallway before their free period.

“Suppose I did.” She shot back, grabbing at her books, the only thing that gave her comfort in these lonesome times. “It doesn’t matter anyway.” She began to walk away. “I have detention on Friday.” 

Albus followed her. “Yeah, Scorpius told me.” 

“Did he also tell you his next master plan?” Rose asked snidely.

“Rose!” Albus stopped. “He’s my only friend. Are your robes more important than my only friend?” Rose looked at him for a moment. 

He truly didn’t understand her, or maybe she didn’t understand him. But the fact of the matter was that they were now the most foreign to one another than they had ever been. Rose took the opportunity to leave Albus hanging, and she wasn’t sorry. 

Rose spent her free periods in the Gryffindor common room alone, doing her work while getting a couple of hours with James’ Discman. Rose was so inwrapped with her work on small-scale Transfiguration and broom mounting techniques that she didn’t see Margaret Wood enter the room and sit right beside her. 

“What is that?” Margaret asked, examining the object, jumping up to retrieve her Muggle Studies notes to return to Rose. “It plays music, right?” Rose gave a tired nod. “Merlin, there are so many different types of music players. Does this one do discs?” 

Rose didn’t say much, but placed the Discman on Margaret’s lap and handed her the headphone, to which she hesitantly and cautiously placed over her ears.

_Then you came back from space_

_With a brand new laugh and a different face_

_You took my hand and held it up_

_And shot my arm full of love_

“Quite lovely,” Margaret commented. “I could only dream of dancing to this at the Yule Ball next year. Are you going?” 

“I thought it was for the older kids,” Rose gave a tone that implied that she thought that she was better than a Yule Ball, but didn’t think anyone would take her. 

“Yes, but it’s not like you can’t ask anyone…” Rose shuddered at the thought. 

“Are you going to ask Lockie?” Rose asked, and Margaret gently returned Rose’s things. She looked at her with a skeptical eye. “Evanora told me...sorry.” 

Rose thought that Margaret was going to run away, just like Rose would’ve done. But Margaret just sat more comfortable in her chair and spoke to Rose. 

“Well, I guess that’s alright, then. Evanora is very much the attentive type.” they shared a giggle and Rose tried hard to not think about how much she missed Evan. “Look,” Margaret started. “I hear that you’re having problems right now. And if you can’t find James, I’m your designated Gryffindor Prefect ready to help.” 

“Thank you, Margaret,” Rose said.

“Call me Maggie, and learn a lesson or two during your detention on Friday, I do not need you costing any more points from Gryffindor.” Maggie got up and left, Rose watched her figure leave with a smile on her face. 

***

Rose woke up Thursday morning and went straight to the library to study History of Magic. Once she sat down and placed her things on the table, she started to miss Tash and wished she could be there to help her. 

She remembered how scared Tash looked in Herbology the last time she was there, during the incident. Rose was never good at jinxes, she guessed that it was true what Professor Flitwick told them in Charms class, ‘you have to mean it for it to happen’. 

Rose knew that she meant it, she could feel it in her rage-shaken hands just as she cast it. The class looked at her as if she was a monster, a creature that crawled out of the Dark Forest to harm them. 

But Rose wasn’t the monster. In her eyes, she was a hero, but she felt so nasty as she flipped through her pages on the _Soap Blizzard of 1378._

“You’re regretting what you’ve done, aren’t you?” A soft voice said, and Rose snapped out of her trance to see Evan sit in the chair in front of her. “I forgive you, mistakes show our growth and the average height of an eleven-year-old is about 144 cm, I’m not one to judge.” 

“You heard what I said in Herbology.” 

“Under all the yelling, you had a point.” Evan started. “You had a right to be upset with him. But after you cast a jinx, he now has a right to be upset with you, who wouldn’t be?”

“What he did was evil.”

“Maybe so, but mistakes still show our growth, I can’t go back on my word.” Rose took what Evan told her and went back to her work, so Evan did as well. 

“My older brother, he’s a squib. He’s ashamed of it, he doesn’t say it but I know. Scorpius seems ashamed…” Evan trailed off for a moment but found her way back. “He calls me evil when he’s mad. I’m just an evil witch,”

“Evan, I’m sorry,”

“It’s alright. I can see his hurt when he tells me those things.” 

“What are you saying?” Rose asked. 

“You’re more hurt than angry.” 

“Yes, I know, but what’s your point?” Evan closed her book.

“The difference between hurt and anger is that anger dies out like a fire, while hurt has to be mended like a wound.” Rose listened to her wisdom. 

“How do I mend it then?” 

“I see green in your future, Rose. Red and green look nice together. It reminds me of Christmas.” And Evan went on with her ramble while Rose enjoyed her company, pondering her words with gentle attention. 

***

November 10th, 2017

Rose barely talked the whole of Friday, only latching onto Evan or James. Everyone in her year knew her as the _Levicorpus_ caster of the first year, rumours were going around that Rose was getting recruited for Hogwarts’ Duelling club. 

James stayed by her side and was the one to debunk any rumours the older kids had to mention about his cousin. He even lent her a couple of his robes. Rose was grateful, glad to not smell bad anymore, even though she did have to pay attention every time she walked, trying not to trip on the fabric. 

“Think of it like a gown,” James would tell her, twirling around the halls himself. “ _Rose G.W.: Queen of Thorns.”_

_“Queen of Thorns?”_

“Every Rose has its thorn…” James declared. 

“You’re my thorn,” Rose told him. 

“That’s until after dinner, and my position as your thorn is lifted.” Rose knew what he meant, and couldn’t agree more. 

***

Rose and Scorpius were instructed to clean up the Quidditch pitch after dinner, being supervised by Filch, the caretaker.

Filch wasn’t much of a supervisor, peering over at them from the tower window. Rose and Scorpius were left with shovels and one potato sack each. 

“He’s a squib,” Scorpius said once Filch left for his office. Rose noticed the doodles Scorpius drew all over his arms. “And I don’t mean that as an insult, my father told me.” 

Rose didn’t say anything back, she just checked her watch periodically waiting for it all to end. 

“How are we supposed to get this all done?” He asked, gazing down the gigantic field. 

“I dunno, but don’t slack off.” 

“I won’t.” He quickly said back, and she scoffed as she shovelled some litter. “What was that?”

“Nothing,” She kept her head down. Scorpius bitterly went back to his work.

“I would appreciate it if you didn’t ignore me. You send me flying to the ceiling then don’t speak to me, doesn’t that sound rude?” 

“Don’t dictate what’s rude, Malfoy.” Rose spat. “You missed a wrapper over there,” And Scorpius continued with the cleaning. 

Soon after a lot of silence, Rose and Scorpius heard a soft hum coming from the distance. Scorpius’ jumped up in fear. 

“What was that?” He asked her. 

“Nothing,” She replied, keeping her eyes on her work. 

“No, that wasn’t nothing, that sounded like a monster.” He started to move further away from the noise. It just got dark, which made it even more of a horror-stricken scene.

“Don’t be a baby!” Rose finally faced him, to which his mood changed at the sound of the word. 

“Don’t call me a baby!” He shot back. “I’d rather you would call me anything other than that.”

Rose thought for a moment, shovelling her last bit of litter into her potato sack, facing Scorpius with the annoyance she had built up in days. 

“Fine, I’ll call you privileged.” 

“It is about time you let that one out, Rose,” Scorpius barely ever spoke of her name, he barely ever spoke to her at all, so it was odd when Rose let that strike her so harsh. “What else?” 

Rose stopped herself, she could hear her mother or James or even Evan telling her to keep her thoughts to herself. She quickly continued with her work, commenting on how there must be more litter at the other end, but Scorpius followed. 

“You didn’t answer my question.” Scorpius’ voice got stern, Rose had never heard him be so rigid. But she knew he was no match for her. 

Rose gripped at the shovel as she spouted her thoughts.

“I just think that you should save up room on your forearm, Slytherins love tradition and you’re five years away…” Rose wasn’t even supposed to know anything about Death Eaters at her age. But she had inherited her mother’s need to know everything and the History of the Malfoys was the first chapter to look upon. 

Rose could hear James telling her that it wasn’t worth it and that that was just too farm, but she didn’t listen, she was too headstrong. 

“How do you know that?” Scorpius asked guiltily. 

“So, is it true?” 

“No!” He exclaimed, which startled Rose. “How dare you!”

“‘ _How dare I?_ ’” She repeated.

“Yeah,” Scorpius thought for a moment, ultimately putting down his shovel. “Sure, I had a good childhood. But my dad isn’t that much different from yours.” Rose couldn’t imagine, but stopped herself and listened. “The only difference is that my father left the battle with a lot more guilt than pride. He doesn’t have to tell me, but I know.” 

“You _know_?” 

“He buys a lot of stuff for his Post Traumatic Stress at _your_ Uncle’s shop…” Rose became very confused. 

“What is that? What are you talking about?” 

“My dad has nightmares, becomes a very apologetic person, he hates flashing lights or loud sounds, he hates fire.” Scorpius went on. “He experienced all of that in battle. Your Uncle sells a lot of stuff for that at the back, _Sweet Dreams potion_ , _Muffliato Muffs_ for his ears, _Flash-Muter contact lenses_ for his eyes. He can’t find much help for fire but he told us that he’s trying his best.” 

“My dad and Uncle never told me about that section,” Rose told him. 

“Oh,” 

They continued with their cleaning, almost finished for the night. 

“From what I know, my father was a horrible bully in school, especially to your parents.” Scorpius had this sense of maturity that night when talking about his father, Rose couldn’t imagine what he knew. “But I assure you that he has made sure that I’m nothing like he was, I don’t want to be that.”

There was another pause as Rose went to pick up a candy bar wrapper.

“And I’m sorry about the robes, it was an accident. I tried to play with fireworks that I bought from the shop but I aimed them weird, I didn’t mean to set fire to your dorm or any dorm for that matter.” 

“Did McGonagall believe you when you said that?” Rose asked. 

“Yeah, a bit,” He paused as he picked up more litter. “Just don’t say things about me when you don’t know.” It seemed to get even darker and then they saw Filch coming to get them, and they knew that they had learned their lesson. 

“Okay,” was that last thing Rose said to Scorpius that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song that Rose is listening to us And It Spread by The Avett Brothers


	11. First Year: Christmas 2017

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Weasley/Granger/Potter Christmas !!!

December 23rd, 2017

On the ride home on the Hogwarts Express, Rose sat with James and Lockie as they predicted the events of the coming year. Both wrapped in their sweaters and knit hats, fogging up the windows with their hot breath to draw pictures of Christmas trees and fireworks. 

“2018 will be the year of new beginnings…” Lockie declared.

“Yeah, Lock, just like every other year,” Rose watched the argument, nuzzled into the corner of the train compartment, reading a copy of the Quibbler Evan gave her as an early Christmas gift. In her bag, she kept two of Pat’s daisy chain crowns to give her parents on Christmas day.

“But we’re turning fourteen, do you know what that means?” Rose couldn’t help but overhear Albus and Scorpius laughing in the compartment beside them. A part of her wanted nothing more than to be with them. 

“That you’re gonna get a date?” James joked. “I’m just kidding,” 

“What do you think of Maggie Wood?” Rose asked, lowering her magazine. It seemed like Lockie was taken back by this surprise question. 

“She’s nice, isn’t she James?” Lockie turned to James innocently, who somehow knew what Rose was talking about. 

“Oh yeah, quite courteous. Best Gryffindor Prefect we’ve ever had.”

“And isn’t she also the head of the choir?” Rose added and James and Lockie agreed. “What a powerful girl.” 

“Yeah…” Lockie started. “You’re right,” And Rose took the opportunity to get out of her seat. 

“I have to use the washroom.” Rose went about her trip, sneaking looks at the two boys in green, her red hair blowing in the winter wind, getting ready for the oh-so festive holiday.

***

Rose got off the train to see her grandparents waiting on the platform. Rose came out with James, later to be joined by Albus after goodbyes from friends. Albus wore his Slytherin scarf while James and Rose were wrapped in theirs for Gryffindor, matching perfectly for the holiday season.

But that thought got muffled by Grandma Weasley’s passionate bear hugs. 

“Oh, my sweethearts, how have you been?” She asked them as they rocked back and forth in her embrace. “My dear, James, what have you done to your hair?” She asked in shock. 

“Just some house pride…” He said with a smile, and Gran let go of him, to which Grandpa Weasley helped him and Albus with their bags. 

“How was your first term?” He asked his grandchildren as they left the platform, Rose could see Lockie Mae hug two adults who she presumed to be his parents.

“Quite good, Gran. Lockie and I helped the choir pick songs for the Muggle Studies presentation.” 

“No Celestina Warbeck, I assume,” Gran joked and James gave a rather harsh head shake in opposition. 

“One of Rose’s friends is in the choir,” James mentioned. 

“Is that right?” Grandpa said. “Well, I better see you three at the piano this Christmas, it’s a shame they don’t teach you _that_ in school.” 

“Auntie ‘Mione teaches us!’ James said. “Besides, school teaches us many valuable lessons for magical _and_ regular education. Ask Rose, she got an Outstanding in her first Herbology assignment.”

“It was partnered work. Besides, Albus is doing pretty well in his first term.” Rose turned to see her cousin trail behind, thinking he was going to be left out for the entire holiday. “Aren’t you, Al?” 

Al joined them and locked arms with Grandma Weasley as they arrived back at the platform between nine and ten.

“I’m doing all right, a bit tough at first. But dad always told me that a Potter can do anything.” Grandma Weasley gave Al a kiss on his head as they reached an alley off of a busy street in Muggle London. It was quiet, and Grandma Weasley held her wand close to her side like a dagger in a knife fight. 

Where are we going?” Albus asked in the dark corners of the alley.

“You lot are coming to our’s for the afternoon. The Ministry is having a big meeting today and I’m sure they’ll go overtime.” Grandpa Weasely said as he put on a pair of square spectacles to check his watch. “I should be getting there soon, as well.”

“But what about my mum?” James asked.

“Or my dad?” Rose added.

“Well, they’re already there.” Gran said, “It might look a bit empty but you’ll be able to see everyone by Christmas.” 

Rose noticed James marvelling at a Music shop across the way, with its neon sign and guitars and drums blaring out of the speakers near the entry. 

But once it got quiet, Rose and Albus were instructed to latch onto Grandma Weasley while James grabbed onto Grandpa. Rose’s Grandparents agreed that side-along apparition was the safest way to get them home, no matter how much Grandpa Weasley wanted to drive around in a Muggle car.

“Alright kiddies, hold tight!” And then before any of the kids noticed, they all zoomed into a warping whirlpool of air and matter, twisting and turning like flushing a toilet. The kid’s first responses were to fall into a giggling frenzy until they were placed gently on a bed of soft, white snow, overlooking the horizon and the view of the Weasely Family’s mismatched utopia.

***

The only people at the Burrow that afternoon were Grandma and Grandpa Weasely, Aunt Ginny, Rose’s dad, Lily, Hugo, James, Albus, and Rose. 

James was eating some pastries that his mother made just before they arrived with a mug of hot chocolate, Aunt Ginny was busy getting to the bottom of James’ hair situation.

“What did you use?” She asked, running her hands through his hair with motherly care. 

“Muggle hair dye. I transfigured it from a bowl of applesauce.” Aunt Ginny laughed in disbelief and hugged her son by the head, impressed by his knowledge.

Grandpa Weasely had to visit the Ministry but wasn’t going to be long, so Grandma Weasley was left sitting in the living room, finishing the last batch of the Weasley Christmas sweaters.

Albus was flying around outside on one of Uncle Harry’s old brooms, Lily was lying in the snow, gapping at the scene. It was clear that his private lessons with Madame Hooch were helping Albus greatly, Rose could see him practicing loops out in the yard. 

Hugo was building a fort out of snow, preparing for his snowball fight against his father. Hugo was using his newfound powers to move the snow around to make a wall whilst their dad used his wand. Rose stared out the window, watching Hugo giggle at his father’s pile of snow caving on him.

“Rose!” Hugo called from the back door, his cheeks and nose bright red from the cold and his knit hat sprinkled in snow. “Come and join my side! Dad is apparating into my territory, there’s no way I can win!” Rose smiled at him and crawled out of the comfort of the couch.

“I’ll be there in a moment,” Rose said as she put her coat on, and from the view of the entry, she could see Grandma Weasley knitting away the afternoon, accompanied by three sets of enchanted knitting needles doing the same thing. “Gran?”

Grandma Weasley put down her things and grabbed Rose and placed her on her lap, hugging her. “Yes, my dear?” 

“You know of my plans?” Rose asked. “After Christmas?”

“Yes, I know of the sort.” Gran let go of her gently and took her glasses off. “I think it’s quite courteous what your mother is doing, your father might be a bit apprehensive, but I’m sure he’ll come around.” Rose let out a sigh as she could see her dad chasing Hugo around in the snow, then to Albus playing with Lily. “Have you come around, sweetheart?” 

“A bit, but I need to be sure,” 

“Then I guess the visit to the Malfoys will hold a lot of answers,” Gran said. “And I’m proud of you for agreeing to go.” 

“Thanks, Gran,” Rose hugged her Gran and got dressed to join Hugo in the snowball fight.

***

“Rose!” Rose woke up to Hugo bouncing at the foot of her bed, wearing a Santa hat. “Santa came! Santa came!”

Rose jumped out of bed and slipped on her slippers. Hugo grabbed her hand to leave but Rose spotted a wrapped present by her window where Dixie sat sleeping. Rose slowly grew closer to see what the package said. _‘To Scorpius, From The Weasleys’_

Rose wondered what it was, but quickly shoved it into her cross bag and ran out of her room and down the stairs. Through the hallway, she could see her mum holding two cups of tea as her father slowly woke up. 

“Morning, my love,” She heard her mum say to her dad with a kiss and Rose ran down the stairs, covering her mouth which was filled with giggles.

Almost with a blink of an eye, the living room floor was covered in bells and whistles and scarves that wrapped presents. 

“This one is ‘ _To Rose, From Mum and Dad_ ’” Rose’s father smiled as he handed her the long gift, a faint mustache under his nose that could be seen in certain light. 

What was revealed was the new Firebolt 18, Hugo commented that it just came out a few weeks ago.

“You’ll knock them dead in quidditch, Rosie, I know you will.” He told her. 

“Thank you, dad,” And she hugged him.

Hugo was gifted with new pyjamas, a training broom, a paint set, and a Weasley sweater with the letter ‘H’ across it.

Rose’s mum and dad got adult gifts like jewelry and bottles of mead. Rose’s father got a charm from Uncle Harry that was a crown. Mum and dad then started mulling around the room singing a song, Rose could only make out the words ‘Weasley is our king’.

Along with the broom, Rose was given the book _Quidditch Through the Ages_ from her mum, as well as a dress and a pair of earrings made with her birthstone, sapphire. Her dad also gifted her with Quidditch gear and a painting of an Owl to put in her room. Hugo gave her another one of his drawings (this one being a self-portrait), as well as a keychain with an ‘H’ to remember him by. Under all the clothes and books she got from relatives, there was one last box waiting for her behind the tree. 

“Look behind the tree, Rosie,” Her father said.

“Yeah, look behind the tree!” Hugo repeated. And Rose slowly inched towards a box wrapped in a starry-night scarf. She tried to pick it up but it was too heavy, that’s always a good sign.

Soon, she unrevealed the wrapping and revealed an old looking stereo. At the bottom, it had a label. _‘To Rose, From James’_

“Now you can play your CDs at school, for the whole Gryffindor common room!” Her dad told her and she jumped up and hugged him. “Don’t thank me, thank your cousin! _This_ is from us…” And Rose’s mother gave her a black and white CD case that said ‘reputation’ over a woman’s face.

“The girl at the store said that you would like her.” Rose’s mom said, and she could see the name on the side of the case. _Taylor Swift..._ and she jumped up and gave her mum the biggest hug in the universe.

***

All the Weasley/Potters gathered at the Burrow to enjoy an early Christmas dinner. Lily, James, Teddy, Albus, Fred, and Roxanne were cooped up in one of the guest rooms to listen to the stereo.

“How old is it?” Fred asked, inspecting it closely, grazing his hands across the buttons.

“Probably from the 90s, it looks quite new,” Teddy answered, watching the lights on the screen turn on and off, his hair colours matched the sequence.

“But it’s so clean…” Roxanne commented, moving her older brother away from the machine.

“That’s because I cleaned it, Rox,” 

“Yeah, Rox, you should try that!” Fred jumped to his feet and messed up Roxanne’s hair, which was in tight, bouncy curls. Teddy left before it got too crazy. 

Roxanne chased after him, Rose, James, and Albus could hear her yell “Fred Weasley the Second, you’re about to be the last! _MOM!_ ” along with Fred’s muffled laughter.

“So, you’ve started your CD collection, G.W.?” James asked, crawling closer to the stereo, digging through a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, hoping he’d get tutti-frutti. “It’s great to start young, I started my collection only a year ago…” 

“How did you get so many?”

“That’s James Potter’s most outstanding secret, G.W.,” James said.

“You? Or your Grandfather?” She teased, and Albus inched closer to the stereo. And as Rose and James were bantering about who-knows-what, Albus turned a dial. 

And the room was filled with sharp hissing and heavy breathing. All the kids covered their ears as it kept ringing. 

“What did you do?” James asked loudly. Rose couldn’t bear the noise, heading for the stereo.

“I turned the dial!” Albus replied, a bit louder.

“Then turn it again!” And Rose quickly turned the dial, changing the sounds to a fairly loud jazz piano. Very abruptly, the door opened and Aunt Ginny entered the room. 

“What was that?” She asked.

“Nothing, just static,” Albus said in a shameful tone. And Aunt Ginny held her hand out and Albus took it.

“Alright, Honeybuns, you should be heading over to the Malfoys soon. Rose, your parents have your things, I can send the stereo back tonight.” 

“Happy Christmas, Aunt Ginny,” Rose said and Aunt Ginny kissed her on the head. 

“Happy Christmas,” And Rose gave James a high-five before leaving. 

She ran down the stairs and said goodbye to everyone. Hugo, Grandma and Grandpa Weasley, Grandma and Grandpa Granger, Uncle Harry, Uncle George, Uncle Bill, Uncle Charlie, Uncle Percy, Auntie Angie, Aunt Fleur, Auntie Audrey, and the multitude of cousins that she had. 

Quickly, she put on her coat, grabbed her cross bag, and later was joined by Albus, leaving the Burrow by side-along apparition. Rose knew that there couldn’t be any non-magical way to get to the home of the Malfoys.


	12. First Year: Truce

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christmas visit to the Malfoy Manor...

After the tossing and turning of their transportation, the group landed on a new bed of snow, this time, it felt like it had been untouched. 

“Oh, Rosie,” her dad said as he picked her back up from the fall, her mother picking up Albus. “Try to land on your feet, there won’t be snow when you have to come for the Summer holiday.” 

“Oh, but it’s just so fun!” Albus commented. 

“And I can learn anytime, maybe I can learn how to apparate before sixth-year.” 

“Oh, sweetheart, that just can’t be.” Her mother told her, wiping the snow out of her hair and off her back. “The Ministry made a law that you are not allowed to apparate before you turn seventeen.” 

“Why is that?” Rose asked. 

“Apparating can be very dangerous, many things can go wrong. But I’m sure you two will be naturals by the time you turn seventeen.” That made Rose wonder how she will end up once she turns seventeen. It was easier to picture Fred or James because they were older. It got harder when she thought of Hugo or Lily, even Albus or even herself. Even Scorpius.

Rose could almost picture her seventeen-year-old self as she stared at the mammoth-like mansion. Its grey walls blurred as she saw her older self running around in the snow like she was getting chased. But not the bad kind of chasing, just like she would in primary school, playing a game. And it was the same as it was before, she never was caught. She almost could see the person chasing her, but the pictures faded away before she could make out a face, and they were only left with the untouched, picture-perfect snow.

Rose wondered whether or not Scorpius had ever played in the snow, but thought it was crazy to assume he had not. She knew that if she had visited a few months prior, her assumptions would have been much harsher. 

But she agreed with Scorpius not to assume how nice his life was, or assume anything about him at all. She now wondered if he was an unpredictable kind of person, maybe he was more laid back than how he’d look in school from time to time, maybe his favourite colour wasn’t green, but yellow. Maybe he wasn’t as cold as his frosty blonde hair and pale face led you to believe, maybe he was much warmer, much more kind, more sincere. 

As Rose and Albus were led to the front door by her parents, she could see the door get bigger as they got closer. Her father was the one who insisted on knocking on the door.

Her mother seemed to look paler herself. Usually, her nose and cheeks were scarlet due to the cold, but her face turned a blank shade of white. She looked nervous. A part of Rose knew why, and those reasons seemed to be what sprouted her hatred onto Scorpius. 

She knew who he was, and she hated who he was from the start. All the grown-up bad things that had happened to her parents and the Malfoys slipped through the cracks and Rose got the picture. And she tried to rip up the picture, burn it into a pile of ash. 

It was almost as if their pain transferred onto her and Hugo, it felt the same for the rest of her family, she just didn’t believe it herself. It was too easy to ignore when you're just a kid and a simple toy set or a song on the radio could detour your focus. But that was until she saw Malfoy in the flesh, and it was almost as if all the pain his family had caused her, all the bullying and betrayal poured over her like a thick coat of paint. And she hated Scorpius so much it was almost too much to bear.

Now she had no desire to hate, but only to match the sorrow of her mother and father as the sound of the big entry door opening helped her detour her focus.

“Al!” Scorpius snaked past his parents who had opened the door and greeted Albus with an enthusiastic hug, not paying attention to the fact that it was a winter’s afternoon and he had only socks on. 

“Aw, Scorpy, your socks!” His mother said, and Scorpius returned inside. The woman had dark brown hair and a light brown knit sweater dress. Her hair was down and she had a beauty mark near her eye that matched the polite eagerness of her stare. 

“I’m Astoria, it is very nice to meet you all formally.” She shook all of their hands, giving each of them a warm smile. 

“Why don’t we let them in, dear? it’s freezing.” The man said. He had hair just like Scorpius, only a bit longer, kept hidden in a low ponytail. He wore a red sweater. As he invited them inside and turned to close the door behind him, Rose could see his wristwatch with the leather band, almost like hers. 

“I’m Mr. Malfoy, but you can call me by my first name, Draco.” Mr. Malfoy was talking to the children, but Rose’s parents caught a few glances at the man as Astoria placed their coats on the hanger and placed the bags and things on the shelf by the door, Rose decided to keep her cross bag on her. “Scorpius has taken a liking to call me ‘D-Malf’ on occasion so do that for what you will.”

Albus couldn’t help but laugh, Rose let out a soft giggle, not too comfortable yet.

“You repainted,” Rose could hear her mother say, and she turned to see her mum staring at all the walls as if they were staring back. “All of it…” Rose could see the main room had walls covered in a friendly shade of fern green, each inch of it accompanied by a painting of Scorpius’ grandparents on both sides of the family, dark brunettes and icy blondes. 

The center of the back wall had a fireplace with a mantle crowded with moving pictures of Astoria and Draco, and some with Scorpius. In all of them, they’re laughing, or in midst of a conversation, or a mishap of someone’s hat falling over their face, or someone’s eyes being shut. 

Rose tried not to think about why her mother knew what the inside of the Malfoy house looked like, why she had even come here in the first place. Her father looked tense, kept his arm around her mother the whole time. 

“Yes, I did,” Mr. Malfoy said. “This was all passed down to me, Astoria picked the colour.”

“Well, it’s a good thing you did.” Rose could tell that there was some fear in her father’s voice. “Why don’t we chat for a while, I brought some snacks.” 

“Perfect! It’s just down the hall right here,” Mr. Malfoy clapped his hands once and the adults moved towards the dining room, talking about the Ministry’s new Anti-House Elf Slavery law, also known as the _Dobby Act._ There was this apologetic glare in Mr. Malfoy’s eye, just like how Scorpius said. It looked like they were both afraid, but you only saw it in Mr. Malfoy’s eyes. 

***

Albus and Scorpius were in Scorpius’ room, playing with his new centaur figurines. Rose sat on the floor by the boys, reading her quidditch book. Scorpius had a small piano by his four-post bed. Just before the family had reached the house, Scorpius had asked his mother to bewitch his piano to play music by itself. The only kind of music Astoria could do was classical, Rose didn’t mind it that much, finding it quite calming and that it made it easier to focus on her reading.

_‘Oh, through the thrill of the chaser, I sore through the air._

_With a snitch up ahead and the wind in my hair._

_As I draw ever closer, the crowd gives a shout._

_But then comes a bludger, and I am knocked out.’_

“Do you really get knocked out from a bludger to the head?” She turned to the boys and they put their figures down.

“I think so, never happened to my dad, but he did fall off his broom a couple of times.” Rose raised her eyebrows at the picture. 

“You think that could hurt?” Rose asked.

“Oh, I’m sure of it. Dad still winces when he recalls the story.”

“My dad too,” Scorpius added. “He was mad, crashed through the foundations to get the snitch,” Scorpius added. “If I were a quidditch player, I would never even think of being a seeker, I’d be a keeper, I want to defend.” 

“I’d like to be a beater,” added Albus.

“I’d be a chaser.” Rose declared. She could recall her times at Muggle primary school when she would play tag with the other kids. She remembers the wind in her hair and the thrill just like the book said. But she didn’t want to catch a snitch, she wanted to score the goals. She could almost hear a faint echo of a crowd chanting _‘Rose! Rose! Rose!’_

“Are you studying quidditch?” Scorpius asked. 

“Sort of,” Rose replied, Albus quickly let Rose know that he could ask his mum if she could coach Rose on everything she knows from being a chaser both on the Hogwarts team and on the Holyhead Harpies. Rose told him that she would love that but only once the weather got better. 

“Are you trying out for the team next year?” Scorpius asked. 

“Probably, just to see if I’m any good.” 

“You’ll be good,” He told her and Rose got a bit delighted if not a sudden feeling of embarrassment from the compliment. “What about you, Al?” 

“No, it’s not really for me.” 

“What about all your private lessons?” Rose asked, confused.

“I like riding around more, but not too fast, I get motion sickness. Hooch had to rub my back when I got sick behind the greenhouse.” Albus told them sheepishly, and the three kids had burst into laughter. 

“You’re kidding!” Scorpius said with his hands over his mouth in disbelief, but still laughing. 

“Oh, I believe you,” Rose commented and they all laughed some more. 

***

Rose had finished her book _Quidditch Through the Years_ and joined the boys. Scorpius had shown Albus and Rose his brand new paint set his mum got him for Christmas. All the watercolour paints and brushes were kept in this wooden case that had ‘S.H. Malfoy’ printed on the front. He had allowed Albus and Rose to try out his new paint set, giving them each a glass of water for the paints. 

They could hear laughter coming from downstairs, Rose looked at the floor with a weight lifting from her back. “They’re getting along,” 

“Uncle Ron probably told the ferret story,” Albus said.

“You think so?” 

“I mean it would either be that or the Hippogriff story,” 

“What’s the ferret story?” Scorpius asked timidly. 

“Oh,” Albus started. “You don’t know?” 

“No, I don’t,” Scorpius thought for a moment, wondering if he did know. “Tell me!”

“A teacher once turned your dad into a ferret!” Rose told him. ”My Uncle Harry told me,”

“Well, tell your uncle Harry to send me some mail sometime, I’d like to chat!” A faint coat of silence fell upon the three children once the joke was over and the smiles faded. 

“I need to use the toilets,” Albus got up and headed for the door. Scorpius had shown Albus and Rose where the nearest washroom was as they got to his bedroom. And as Rose could hear Albus’s footsteps fade away, she decided to be the first one to speak. 

“What did you paint?” She asked, and Scorpius showed her his painting of a night sky, the purple and blues blended perfectly and he had gone over it with white ink for the stars, leaving a faint scribble of letters on the bottom corner for his name, _S.H. Malfoy._ “Good job,” She said softly, not showing too much of a reaction. 

“Show me yours,” He told her, and she shifted her paper over to him. He picked it up and looked at it in the faint sunlight of the winter afternoon. It was a simple blue butterfly and as he moved it through the sky, it looked as if it was flying on its own. “I like it,” Scorpius said as he kept it flying. The music on the piano made it feel like the world was going in slow motion. 

“Thanks,” Rose’s sight moved to her bag. “Wait!” 

The butterfly fell. “What?” Scorpius turned to her, gravity made his near-white hair messy. “What’s wrong?” 

“Nothing,” She moved to her bag. “I just, I have something for you.” Rose pulled out the present and walked towards the boy, who showed a faint sense of confusion.

“This is for me?” He asked her. 

“It has your name on it, does it not?” She felt newfound confidence to joke with Scorpius after their few bursts of laughter together. It seemed like the only side he knew of her was hate, and she did not want to be painted by grievances she did not hold at that moment. She was also just being kind because that’s how she was taught. And despite her past assumptions, it seemed like Scorpius was taught just the same.

He opened the package to see a medium-sized box. He looked up at Rose, who was just as clueless as him. He then opened the box to see four wooden figurines. A lion, a snake, an eagle and a badger. It was the four house animals, the back of each had a carved ‘H’ on it. Was it for _‘Hogwarts’_ or _‘Hugo’_?

“Thank you, Rose,” Scorpius said, holding the box with care. He then moved it over to his bed, closing the box again.“ Scorpius took a moment before saying this. “I saw how scared your mom looked, I’m sorry.” He meant it.

“I saw your father too.” She added.

“You did?”

“Yes...” They could hear another faint laugh as Scorpius went back to his paint set. “I’m sorry for everything, I _really_ am.” 

He looked back at her. She felt older now, closer to her seventeen-year-old vision and Scorpius looked back at her the same. He stuck his hand out. 

“I’m sorry too.” She took his hand. “Truce?” 

“Yes,” She gave the brightest smile she had that whole afternoon and they shook hands and thus the battle ended.

***

Near the end of the visit, The kids had joined the adults in the kitchen to have something to eat. Albus was particularly enthusiastic about the different types of cheese the Malfoys had on the counter. 

Rose was the first one to overhear their conversation at the table. As Scorpius and Albus were having their own conversation about the annoying Slytherin Prefects and whether Tash O’Neil would be a good fit for the Slytherin Quidditch team next year. Rose’s ears twitched when she heard Tash’s name come up, but she couldn’t compare to what the adults had to say.

“I have an appointment next week to cover it.” Mr. Malfoy told Rose’s parents. 

“We have been using bandages from his office up in St. Mungos to cover but it’s just no use,” Astoria said.

“I thought that you two should be the first few to know.” He added. 

“Have you told Harry?” Her mum asked. 

“Draco, you have to tell Harry,” Her father added. “He should’ve been the first. I mean, we’re shite compared to him.” He joked and Rose’s mum shook her head with a laugh as everyone else did. 

“I know, I’m sorry,” Mr. Malfoy said, and his tone grew weaker. Rose could see Astoria take his hand. 

“Don’t be sorry, dear,” That was what made Scorpius and Albus notice what was going on. 

“What’s going on?” Scorpius asked, looking at his parents. 

“Rose,” Her mum started. “The Malfoys brought you a present.” Rose’s mum handed her a heavy box, she opened to see three new Gryffindor robes. 

“I called the shops and they still had your measurements. Hopefully, you haven’t had a growth spurt these past few months.” Astoria came and sat with the kids along with her parents, Mr. Malfoy trailed behind near the counters. Astoria gave that warm smile that made everything suddenly feel okay. 

“Thank you very much,” Rose told them, and her dad took a glance at his watch. 

“Oh, we have to go. It’s about to get dark.” Rose and Albus got out of their seats as well as Scorpius and they all were led to the door. 

As they all were getting their coats on and Mr. Malfoy was back to normal, Rose took a moment to look at Scorpius as he was joking off with Albus. It was like she was thanking him with her stare and for a few moments, he had received it, and he accepted.

“Thank you for visiting, it was such a pleasure," Astoria said.

"Make sure to ask your parents if you can sleepover this summer, Al!" Scorpius added and Albus confirmed that he would. "And here," Scorpius then handed Rose her butterfly painting, she took it and folded it, placing it in her coat pocket with a smile. 

"Thank you,"

"We should be getting home, you never know how many people are apparating home this evening." Rose’s dad went for the door. 

"Make sure to stay safe!" The Malfoys said. Rose started to leave but slowed down and turned back to the family behind her.

"Happy Christmas and a Happy New Year!" She said sweetly with a smile.

"Happy Christmas, Rose," Mr. Malfoy said to her kindly with a wave goodbye. And she could see the bandages on his forearm. She smiled as she waved back, giving good wishes to all of them with her eyes and she was sure they received them and had accepted.


	13. First Year: Changes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Term 2 Begins! Also, thank you to everyone leaving Kudos' on my work, I appreciate it!!

The train back to Hogwarts was much less gloomy than the last. It was the first day of the new year, meaning that Rose saw each student board the train, discussing what they got for Christmas or other holidays, what they did, and most recently, what 2018 had to offer. 

The Quidditch players predicted their winnings, some Hufflepuffs hypothesized that the Whomping Willow would break, and many of the older girls discussed their predictions based on their holiday Divination work. Rose made sure to listen in on what they had to say.

Rose liked the Divination girls, they all had a dreamy look in their eyes and wore sheer long-sleeve shirts under their t-shirts with stars or moons all over them. They made it known what they believed in, no matter who agreed. They had pierced ears and weren’t too scared to let the earring dangle. It was almost like they weren’t afraid of anything. 

Rose would see them get teased by the more conforming bunch, but they didn’t bat an eye. Rose thought it had to do with how they discussed the world above them. She couldn’t imagine Albus or James doing that, they were much more concerned for the here and now. 

The two girls she overheard were Fiona Jangleberry and Suki Millhouse. Rose remembered seeing James or Lockie making their way to class and seeing them trail behind, talking up storms on whatever older girls talked about. Fiona was a Gryffindor, had light brown hair and bushy eyebrows and talked like anyone was her friend, as if she was the embodiment of sitting relaxed on a chair. 

Suki was the shorter girl in Hufflepuff, and like most Hufflepuffs, she was adorable and kind, laughed at almost everything and thanked almost everyone. But she didn’t seem so soft on the outside. Rose noticed the green streak on the bottom layer of her hair and her left ear which was pierced twice. Rose could imagine Suki with James, she thought they would look nice together and only imagined them together at the Halloween party last fall. 

“No, Fiona, I’m serious! My mums told me that this year is meant for female empowerment, it’s in the stars, quite literally!” Said the shorter of the two girls.

“Sukie,” the second girl started. “maybe that’s because your mums write for the Witches for Feminism Magazine,” 

“That doesn’t make it any less credible!” 

“I didn’t say that Sukie, you know I’m a feminist, I just don’t think we need the stars to tell us that we should feel empowered.”

“I know,” Suki said a bit muffled. “But it is nice to hear.” And the two girls went back to their compartment. 

Rose followed Albus and Scorpius into one of the train compartments, Albus was staring out the window again, watching his mum and dad say goodbye. 

Scorpius placed his hand on Albus’s shoulder. Rose couldn’t make out what he was saying but could see Al’s tears in the reflection on the window. Scorpius handed him his silver handkerchief from his pocket. 

“Five more months, Al,” he said to him. 

“I know,” And Al took the handkerchief and rubbed his eyes. “It’s just hard at first, to say goodbye.” Scorpius rubbed his friend’s back.

“It’ll be easier once you get to the castle, I heard that we’re having steak for dinner.” Rose knew Scorpius heard nothing of the sort but wanted to thank him for trying.

“It’s also your birthday in March,” Rose took the more realistic route. “You'll be twelve before you know it,” Rose watched the scenery fade into trees and green on the window. “And I was thinking, maybe I should start practice earlier in the year, so I’ll be perfect for Quidditch tryouts next year. You can join me, just for fun.”

“I thought you said you didn’t want to fly during the winter.” At this moment, Rose had forgotten that she told Albus this on holiday, for she only wanted him to feel better and thought that flying on brooms was the way to go. 

“Al,” She thought for a moment on what to say. “If I’m going to be Hogwarts’ best chaser, I need to be a bit looser with my restrictions. I’m sure your mother played Quidditch in the snow,” 

“Yes, you’re right,” And Albus seemed to get better. 

“You said it was your birthday in March,” Scorpius started. “We should all do something,” 

“Yes!” Rose added.”

“Like what?” Albus asked.

“Oh, I don’t know, Rose could figure it out.” He gestured over to Rose to which she gave Albus a reassuring nod, despite being taken a bit off guard.

Once all the students return to Hogwarts, Rose made sure to catch up with Scorpius on their way in. She greeted him again with a subtle jab at his side. She did feel comfortable treating him this way, they had to take baby steps.

“How do you suppose I figure everything out?” She asked him discreetly. Albus went off to talk with James. 

“I don’t know, you know everything,” He told her. 

“What I know is that I’m not letting you make me do everything, he’s your friend.”

“I know, I want to help, I’m just not the most organized person. You only get Outstandings on your work.” Rose couldn’t help but smile at this compliment. She knew that Scorpius thought somewhat highly of her, it being put so bluntly almost made her laugh. 

“Thank you, but I’m not this super organized crup you think I am, Malfoy,” 

“Well, then what’s your secret?” He asked her once they returned to the castle and they could see Albus returning from his talk with James. 

“Pure talent, I guess,” She says with a smile and left to go find Evan in the sea of students. 

“You seem to have mended your rivalry with Scorpius,” She said once Rose was in earshot. Evan had stars in her afro, which was a few inches shorter. “Mum had it cut, she didn’t want me to be placed in the back row for the rest of term.”

“Why don’t you braid it?” Rose asked as they both made their way to the main common room. 

“Afros make me feel free, Rose. I’m sure you feel the same when you let your hair down. Mine is just a bit more...puffy.” And they both shared a laugh.

***

That night in the girls’ washroom before bedtime, it felt more chaotic. Girls were levitating their new gifted makeup into their bags, taking extra time to look at themselves in the mirror. 

“It's like they think they would change completely over the holiday,” Tash commented to Rose as they brushed their hair. 

“Might as well Transfigure yourself into a Veela if you’re eager.” 

“Maybe they want to look nice for Valentine’s day…” Tash suggested and Pat came in with her sunflower pyjamas, looking rather refreshed for the night.

“Oh, that’s rubbish!” She said.

“What?” Asked Tash.

“I doubt the only reason the girls are taking more care of themselves is for love. My mum once took me to Amethyst and Allegra’s Beauty Parlor just to make me smile, isn’t it that simple?” 

“Yes, I guess…” Tash replied. 

“But I cannot wait to be older like the other girls, they seem more confident.”

“Pat?” The girls heard Evan from one of the stalls.

“Yes, Evan?”

“I think that might be closer than you think, I, myself have become a woman. But I don’t feel that much confidence in my current state, menstruation really weakens you. But it’s only for five days, so there’s no rush for confidence now.” 

All the girls’ eyes widened once Evan said the word ‘menstruation’. Rose got a lesson or two from her mother. It felt so soon, but I guess it made sense, some girls got it when in primary school.

“You what?” Pat exclaimed in the girl’s washroom.

“I’m a woman now, it sounds like.” Evan was talking to them through a closed stall door. All of them wearing their pyjamas, Rose feeling a tad bit sweeter in a set she got for Christmas. Tash and Pat had their hair in two matching braids on the sides of their heads. Evan had just informed them that she had gotten her first period over the holiday. Pat was particularly enthusiastic. 

“How exciting! Do you feel any different?” She asked Evan through the stall.

“Well, I do feel more pain in my abdomen. But that’s likely to pass.” The door opened and Evan stepped out. “I did cry while reading, though, it was quite draining.” Pat grabbed Evan into a hug and Evan looked very surprised, hesitant on returning the embrace. 

The next morning during Charms class, Rose started to think about what Scorpius said. Sure, she was smart, but not a mastermind. It never even occurred to her that exams would be approaching any time soon. That terrified her, the last thing she wanted to be was a Granger with just an Acceptable or even a dreadful Troll.

The lesson they had that day was for Diffindo, the severing charm. Professor Flitwick had told Rose in private that he wasn’t too comfortable teaching her this particular spell after the incident with Mr. Malfoy after she had mastered the levitation charm. 

“You are very gifted indeed, Miss Granger-Weasley. You need to learn how to use your powers for good.” He had told her in the back of the class, escorting her to a secluded area of the room to practice severing on pieces of wood, far away from the other students. 

***

January 3rd, 2018

Rose met with Albus during their free period on that Wednesday afternoon covered in layers of knit and wool, Rose’s sweater displaying a huge ‘R’ across her chest. They both mounted their brooms and Rose practiced getting the Quaffle through the hoops, Albus stayed to guard.

Albus was surprisingly good at being a keeper. He got hit a good couple of times with the Quaffle. His favourite move was to dodge it with his head, the helmet he had on did make him look like a right git.

“How’s your lot?” Al asked in between blows, the snowfall shifting side to side as she moved.

“They’re alright,” Rose was sure to keep the menstruation talk away from Albus, it was a girl’s thing. “How’s Scorpius?” Rose threw the Quaffle a few more times, getting a few through the hood and zooming down near the field to retrieve it. 

She could see a group of older boys (maybe sixth-year or seventh) throwing snowballs at each other on that grey sky afternoon. But she discreetly returned to the hoop.

“He’s good,” Al answered once Rose returned. “And I have more than just Scorpius,” 

“But Pat is my friend as well,”

“That doesn’t make her any less a friend of mine,” he said with a bit more force, a bit annoyed at Rose. She tilted her head to look at him and his helmet wasn’t much of a big deal then. 

“Do you fancy Pat?” Rose asked her cousin. Albus’s face contorted with shock at her question. 

“Why would you ask me that?” He projected his voice this time.

“Do you?” She said with a snicker. 

“No!” He answered plainly. “Do you like Scorpius?” He shot back and Rose held steady on her broom. 

“No!” She yelled back and Albus let out a laugh. She shook her head at him, let out a deep breath, making a cloud with her hot breath, and threw the Quaffle. It had just passed Albus’s face.

“Hey!” Albus shouted as the ball returned to Rose’s grip. “It’s almost like you want to hit me!” Al teased. 

“Don’t be silly!” She replied. 

“I wouldn’t be silly a few months ago!” He yelled back at her, and she held the quaffle in her hands, slowly flying forward to Albus. “What are you doing?” 

“I never said I was sorry.” She started, All looked at her very confused as they both floated in the sky. Albus’s shaggy brown hair in his keep helmet sure made Rose laugh a bit. “I am, I shouldn’t have excluded you, it was rude of me.” She stuck her hand out for Albus to take it, holding the Quaffle under her other arm. 

Albus let one of his hands off of his broom and shook Rose’s. But as the cousin’s hands interlocked with one another, the broom tipped and Al slipped out of his broom. 

Al let out a yelp and Rose dropped the Quaffle, which made a surprisingly loud thud on the field. 

“Rose, please do not let go!” Albus cried and Rose could feel her arms get tired as she saw an older boy run-up to the pitch. 

“Levicorpus!” The boy had cast and Albus started to float out of Rose’s grip. “Let go!” He called and Rose did so. She returned to the field, a group of older boys crowded the scene, their dark robes from dots of black to rows of unfamiliar faces. 

“Thought you were the Levicorpus master, G.W.,” One of the boys said. He had a deeper voice than Albus or James, his hair was brushed back like a businessman. Rose tried her best to keep her head down as she passed them, holding onto her broom and retrieving Albus. 

“Thanks,” Al said quietly, patting his hair down to normal. 

“No problem, Potter, now you owe me one.” The older boy said with an emphasis on ‘you’ and ‘me’, pointing his wand to Albus’s chest. Rose felt cold air fill her lungs as she breathed cautiously, noticing how the boys towered over both of them. 

But Rose could see that those lots weren’t good company and she took Al by his hand and they left. Rose could still hear the faint yells of them calling for ‘Potter’.

“He had chin hair,” Albus said to himself once they returned to the castle, he quickly freed his hand from Rose. “weird…”

Herbology class was okay, Rose came in sporting her new robes and everyone stared at her, but obviously didn’t want to say anything. But Rose knew the snickers and muffled comments were directed to her once they were having their lesson on Dittany, which was most commonly used for its healing properties. As the class ended and the kids went on their way, they made sure to make comments on how Scorpius will need Dittany the next time he’s alone with Rose.

It made her feel like muck, Professor Longbottom asked for her to stay behind, which made Devon Finnigan and a few of his friends project their ‘ooo’s as if Rose was in big trouble. 

As the room filed out, Rose watched Professor Longbottom clear the bored and water his plants with a flick of his wand. Today, he chose a more professional outfit. Rose could guess that Professor Longbottom’s wife had gifted him his new shirt that past Christmas. 

“Rose,” She turned back to her and she held her books, still trying to forget the comments she had received that day in class. 

“Professor?”

“How was your holiday, your mother tells me you went and visited the Malfoys?” Professor asked. 

“Yes…” Rose answered. On many occasions, she forgets that Professor Longbottom is a friend to her family. Being at Hogwarts for so long, Rose completely forgot how her father asked for her to greet Professor Longbottom specifically for him, she wondered if Albus had done the same.

“I’ve also seen how you two have started getting along. My apologies for the class today. I’ve asked Devon to have a chat with me today at lunch.” He crossed the room and put on his smock and gloves to enter the greenhouse. “I would also like to award 50 points to Gryffindor for your problem solving and house unity, I know it was especially hard for you.” 

Rose lit up. “Thank you, Professor,” 

“I would also like to add that I am adding the same amount for Slytherin.” 

“Of course,” She answered and she watched as Professor Longbottom put on a set of earmuffs. 

“Have a good rest of your day, Rose.” He said louder as he entered the greenhouse. Rose waved goodbye and left. “You can let Scorpius know of the news if you get the chance.”

Once Rose was walking down the hall to her last classroom, she could see Albus, Pat, and Scorpius throwing snow at each other. Pat was giggling up a storm as the two boys were getting pelted with snow, dampening their robes. Rose could hear Headmistress McGonagall calling from the top tower for them to stop and they slowly made their way to the building again. 

Rose wondered if she should give Scorpius the news about the new Slytherin house points but he looked busy enough.


	14. First Year: Win and Lose

Once her day was over, Rose returned to the main common room with Evan and Tash to do their homework. Rose had a paper due in a week on the medieval Dark Wizard, _Emeric the Evil_. Tash was more than happy to help. Whilst they were seated by the fire, Evan was on the couch, writing in a small book. 

Over and over again, Evan would write down a word, furrow her eyebrows, and furiously cross it out in ink. Rose had never seen Evan with such anger, it was always happiness or nothing. A part of Rose was happy that Evan let herself get mad like that. 

“What’s wrong?” Tash asked after the third cross-out. At this moment, Rose had noticed how refined Tash’s hair was. Jet black, short bob with bangs, you would assume for her to be harsh and cold. But Tash was the delicate kind, maybe even more than Pat or Evan. 

Rose never noticed delicate things, she was always brought up to be whatever she wanted to be. And while she adored wearing dresses and giggling sweetly with her girlfriends, she was also very much delighted when she got to do the hard stuff like Quidditch or protecting Hugo from bullies at school. But what mattered best was that she was happy doing both, and not letting roles restrict her, for that was the biggest threat of all. 

“What?” Evan looked up from her book, a streak of ink on her cheek. Tash got up and sat beside Evan gracefully. 

“What are you writing?” Tash moved her hand towards the book and Evan pulled it back. She got up and put the book back in her bag. “Is it private?” Tash asked cautiously. 

“What odd questions you ask, Tash,” Evan said as she shoved it to the bottom, her back facing the two other girls. “How’s your essay going, Rose?” This was when Pat arrived, her short, blonde curls and robes damp from the snow.

“Hiya,” She greeted the girls and plopped down by the fire.

“S’alright,” Rose answered Evan. “I’m just getting to his duel against _Egbert the Egregious_.”

“I’ve been reading up on _Egbert the Egregious_ ,” Tash added. “They say he slaughtered Emeric in the duel. No surprise there, he was the fourth owner of the Elder Wand, Emeric was doomed.”

“ _I_ wish _I_ had the Elder Wand,” Pat sulked in her seat, Rose assumed she had just come back from a second snowball fight with Al and Scorpius. “Maybe with the Elder wand, I wouldn’t be so rubbish at Transfiguration.”

Tash got up to put her books back in her bag. “Well, you’d have to fight the owner for it to truly be yours.” Tash turned back to them. “Besides, it’s gone. _Harry Potter_ is the last one to own it, he snapped it in half after the _Battle of Hogwarts_ twenty years ago.” She spat out like a talking textbook. Tash then looked over at Rose, who had a blank stare at the sound of her Uncle’s name. “Sorry Rose, I didn’t mean to speak of your family’s history in such an academic tone.” 

“No, it’s okay,” She assured Tash. “Besides, it’s more Albus’ history than mine.”

“Isn’t it Albus’s birthday soon?” Tash asked Rose.

“His birthday is in March, the 23rd, I think,” Pat answered, still slouched in her seat. 

“You’ve been spending lots of time with Albus and Scorpius,” Evan commented. 

“Yes, they’re my friends,” Pat replied. Rose could tell that Pat got a bit defensive at the comment. 

“My brother always told me that it’s never just that,” Evan gave a pause as all the girls joined Pat on the couch. “But what does he know? I think anybody can be friends with anybody, don’t you think?” 

All the girls stared into the fire. Evan had just passed her first step of becoming a woman and she spoke with wisdom beyond her eleven years of life. She sat beside Tash, who knew what she wanted to be and went for it, Rose admired that. Then there was Pat, who cared for her friends and stayed by their side, she had a heart of gold. Rose didn’t want to think too highly of herself, knew she was self-righteous and stubborn at times, but knew that if she had to, she would show courage to those who she cared for. And at that moment, they surrounded her. 

“Yes, Evan,” Rose replied with a tired tone to her young voice. “I do think so...” 

***

During breakfast, Albus visited the Gryffindor table to ask Rose if he could invite Scorpius to Rose’s chaser practice. Rose allowed it, but only if she could invite her friends as well. 

“We could play a few rounds, a modified version,” Rose told him. “I’ll be the chaser, You and Pat can be beaters, Tash can be the keeper.” 

“Scorpius wants to be a keeper.” 

“No, I’m choosing,” She said quickly over her meal. “He can be a chaser too,”

“Why?” 

“It’s my practice, I choose the positions.” 

“What about your Ravenclaw friend, Evan?” 

“Evan’s Evan, she won’t want to play.”

“What if Scorpius doesn’t want to play either?” Albus asked her. 

“He will, trust me,” 

Rose, Tash, and Pat set up the game on the field after dinner. They could see the group of boys Rose saw before, only Rose knew who they were. They had Ravenclaw Quidditch uniforms on, roughhousing on the grass. Pat took a moment or two to stare at the older boys, Rose could tell that Pat thought they were cute, but her judgement was great, and she could see that they were just dumb boys.

“Where’s Evan?” Tash asked, putting on the keeper helmet, her breath made clouds steam from her mouth as she talked, it had just stopped snowing. “Is she coming?”

“No,” Pat answered, shifting her attention to the two bats in her hands. “She’s catching up on the Quibbler, in the library.” Pat stood strong in her gear, even though she was the shortest of the group. She seemed more like a woodland fairy herself. Her doll eyes looked up and she lit up. “Here you are!” 

Albus and Scorpius came walking in with brooms and green Quidditch gear. They both looked a bit taller than normal, but Rose only looked down to see that they were both wearing their winter boots.

“Ready?” Rose asked once they were close by. 

“Yeah,” Al said while Scorpius gave a nod.

“Alright! Pat and Al, you go near the north and south side.” They were both mounted on the brooms and Pat gave him his bat. She gave a bit of a holler when she was sprung into the air, not so used to the feeling of flying. Albus tried to contain it, he was used to it but it was still a fear he had. Tash made her way to the hoop and zoomed up there with ease.

“I’m a chaser, correct?” Scorpius asked. 

“Yes,” Rose replied and he gave a nod. “You just try to get the ball through the hoop, that’s all.” 

“Okay, just as long as it’s fun, I don’t want to get sick behind the greenhouse.” He said with a hind of fear and Rose put her hand on his back. 

“HEY!” They heard Pat yell, “LET’S GET THE GAME GOING!”

Scorpius and Rose zoomed up into the air and Pat got ready to release the quaffle and bludgers. “ALRIGHT?” Rose shouted, and her friends nodded as she faced Scorpius head to head. “NOW!” And the balls were released. 

At first, it was clumsy and slow, Tash always seemed to run herself through the hoop and Scorpius kept getting knocked off his broom with his bludger. 

“Tash, you alright?” Albus asked from the other side of their small area. 

“Peachy!” She answered as she was getting back on her broom, Al used the levitation charm to help her. “Thanks, Al!”

Rose and Scorpius were tied at this point, and it was almost curfew and it was getting dark. Rose was near the south side, flying past bludgers that aimed for her head. She could see Scorpius clearly, his icy blonde hair glowing even in the night sky. 

“Rose!” Tash yelled from the other side. “Behind you!” And Rose was knocked to the side and the Quaffle fell out of her grips, falling into the hands of Scorpius. He gave a cheerful laugh as he zoomed away. Rose, with a surge of determination, gripped onto her broom and headed straight for Malfoy. 

“Malfoy, you knobhead!” Rose yelled through the air, she could hear Scorpius laugh at the name. The cold winter breeze flew past her hair as she got closer and closer to Scorpius. His picture got bigger and bigger and she almost got to him...Until his side got whacked with a bludger and the quaffle fell out of his arms. 

Rose did a harsh dip under his body to retrieve the Quaffle and she glided past the bludgers. It had just started snowing again and her vision was obscured, but she saw Albus and threw the Quaffle with the rest of her energy. 

She waited a few seconds, knowing that if she heard a quick smack, it meant Albus caught it, but the soft whistle of the ball falling through the air kept going. And cheers were heard behind her. 

“Rose, you did it!” Tash shouted as they all returned to the ground. “You also did a great job, Al. You were much better than me.”

“Thanks, Tash,” Albus said, rubbing the back of his head. It looked as if he tried to catch the ball, but ended up latching onto the hoop. Rose then stuck her hand out to Scorpius. 

“Good game, Malfoy,” 

“I thought my name was _Knobhead_?” He commented but still took her hand to shake it. “You girls get inside, losing team packs up.”

“Thanks…” Rose said with a smile as Pat and Tash ran inside, the wind getting a bit stronger. 

All the girls flipped their hoods on when they entered the castle, stomping all the snow off by the door.

“Quite a victory, don’t you think?” Pat said as they walked down the darkened hall. “But the boys were good as well, don’t you agree, Tash?” Pat asked with a smile. 

“Huh?” It seemed that Tash had zoned out for a moment or two. 

“‘ _Thanks, Al! You also did a great job, Al._ ’ Tash...do you fancy Albus?”

Tash shushed her, not saying much for a few seconds as her pace grew faster through the halls, it didn’t seem like she was doing it on purpose, it was just an automatic response. 

“Maybe, I mean, I’ve never fancied anyone before. But I do think I fancy him.” The three girls turned the corner and ran up the stairs to the main common room. 

“I’ll tell you one thing about Albus,” Rose told her. “He's a big goof, so I hope you’re ready.” Rose joked with Tash and they all entered the main common room to see Evan writing in her book again. But once she saw the others at the door, she closed the book and shifted all of her attention to her friends. 

“Did you win?” She asked hopefully. 

“Yes,” Tash answered and Evan ran and hugged them all. 

“Maybe you can get him something for Valentine’s Day…” Pat suggested. “Or his birthday…”

“My birthday is on Valentine’s Day…” Evan added as the girls returned to the couch. 

“That would explain your loveliness, Evanora,” Pat commented as she sat down, Evan took a moment before she sat down. 

“Thank you…” She then said.

“So,” Pat started again. “If we’re talking crushes, I could tell you guys mine.” Evan looked at her. They explained their previous conversation to Evan as they all sat back down on the couch. 

“So...who do _you_ fancy, Pat?” Tash asked, criss-cross in her chair. “Is it Scorpius?” 

“Absolutely not!” She said with a disgusted look on her face, all the girls laughed. 

“Lockie Mae?” Rose asked. “He’s in Hufflepuff…” 

“He’s very nice...but no.” 

“Just tell us!” Tash whined. Not wanting to make any more guesses.

“Fine…” Pat said softly. “Just don’t make fun of me, okay? I wouldn’t be able to show my face if you guys laughed.” Evan took Pat’s hands. 

“We’re your friends, you decide to tell us if you want to.” The rest of the girls gave reassuring nods. 

“Okay,” Pat said and she covered her face in her hands for a few moments. Her face then jumped quickly out of her palms to say. “ _Professor Longbottom!_ ” Before covering her face again.

All the girls’ eyes grew wide. 

“You’re joking!” Rose replied. “He’s a teacher!” 

“I know! But I _do_ find him quite handsome…”

“He’s a grown man!” Maybe the fact that Rose knew Professor Longbottom personally was what made her contort her face at the thought of Pat fancying him. 

“Yes, please, talk a bit louder so the whole castle knows!” Pat shouted and it grew quiet. The girls sat there and waited for someone to say something. 

“I don’t fancy anyone...but when I do, I’ll tell you,” Rose said quietly.

“It’s getting quite late, we should get to bed,” Evan said and Tash followed behind her. 

“I’ll think about the Valentine's Day idea, Pat, it was a good idea…” Tash said before you could hear her footsteps leave the room and down to the dungeons. 

Rose took a few moments before moving closer to Pat, she was staring into the fire. 

“I’m sorry,” Rose said. And she meant, she wished she hadn’t acted the way she had done to Pat. 

“S’okay…” Pat replied. “I know you didn’t mean to be rude.” 

“But I mean it when I say I’m sorry,” Rose said with a slight increase of urgency. “I’m sorry about what I did in Herbology last term, I’m sorry for mistreating because of the Auxilium.” Rose turned to her and as she talked it felt like she was about to start crying. Pat is the most loyal to her and the rest of her friends but she was also the last person Rose had apologized to.

Rose watched as Pat wiped away a single tear and waited for something to say. When you're just a kid, those things aren’t that easy. 

“Our friendship is important to me, all of you…” She started. “Including Scorpius. No one can make me believe otherwise.” 

“I’m sorry…” Rose said softly. 

“I forgive you...” Pat said, and that was when Rose realized that her favourite house had to be Hufflepuff.


End file.
